Friday, July 18, 2008 - Update

I can sit up really well with my boppy.
I'm told it would be easier to sit up if I didn't cross my legs, but. . .

I'm a lady, you know.

This morning I woke up with every intention of going for a brisk, morning walk with Olivia. Well, okay, it was more like a 50/50 chance of doing it, but the rain kept me from it. One of these days, I will do it. . .maybe.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 - Update

This is my new smile.
My mom calls it the "I forgot to put my dentures in" smile.

I don't know what that means. . .

Isn't she just adorable? She is such a joy and a blessing to me. It's like she is everything that is pure and sweet and wonderful and miraculous in this world.

I got my blood test results back today and everything is perfect. . .seems it's all in my head. I'm sure the fatigue has to do with depression/stress. When I was younger, I got stomach aches. Then, I got headaches. Now, I guess my body just says, "Forget this. . I want to go to sleep." Excedrin helps in the mornings. I need to somehow work a morning shower into my day as that has always helped me wake up. I'm trying to be more active as well. Any fatigue remedies out there?

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Update

My mood has been heavy lately. I think many reasons factor into that. I think of Logan a lot. The other night I had my second dream about him, although it wasn't quite as lovely as the last. I won't go into all of the specifics, but I was at some sort of hotel suite with other people. I remember asking everyone where Logan was and was told that they put him to bed in the bedroom. I walked in to find a lot of babies sleeping and I didn't know which one was Logan. I couldn't recognize him. Then, a teenage boy walked up to me and called me mom. I assumed that because Olivia was a baby in the dream, that Logan was too. I miss him. I've realized that I will always miss him. There will always be an empty place in our family that can never be filled. The pain doesn't hurt as much as it did in those first few weeks, but instead of decreasing over time, I believe it sort of plateaus.

The recent news of Heather's diagnosis of cancer has a lot of us shook up. It just doesn't seem fair. Why is there so much suffering? Why are we given so much to handle? Ryan's aunt Peggy is still fighting a hard fight with cancer. I know she's getting tired and the treatments are difficult. What advice and encouragement can I give to those people? I'm often at a loss for words. Many of us aren't strong enough to endure such hardship. I am reminded of a verse that has always meant a lot to me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

I believe that God does give people more than they can handle, but he doesn't give you any more than HE can handle. Our life on earth can be tough. Even if we lived to be 100 years old, our life on earth is just a tiny speck compared to our eternal life in heaven. That's what we have to look forward to. That is what will make our trials on earth worthwhile. My heart goes out to everyone enduring difficult times.

Pray for Heather

We're all praying for you, Heather!

Here is Heather marching for babies on the Olivia and Logan team in April.

I was going to write today about Olivia and all of the things that I did today. . .then I heard that Heather was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma Cancer. I don't know a whole lot about cancer, but I know that Stage 4 is not news that anyone wants to hear. My heart is breaking. I ask that you all surround Heather and her family with your love and support.

http://www.thesnydernews.blogspot.com/

Monday, July 14, 2008 - Update

Silly girl!

Do you ever have those really good trips to the mailbox? I received so many long-awaited items in the mail today. Of course, there were bills in there as well, but we won't think about those. We got Olivia's Baby Signing Time DVDs (one for now and one for her birthday.) We got our new insurance cards that we've been waiting on. We got Ryan's first paycheck that will come in handy after a month of not getting paid. I got my Redbook magazine. . .it was like Christmas!

I have to say that I have enjoyed watching Olivia develop a sense of humor. Sometimes she just cracks me up. Today I was singing to her a song that I often sing. .

The ants go marching one by one. . .hoorah. . .hoorah. .

The ants go marching two by two. . hoorah. . .hoorah. .

Instead of singing hoorah. . hoorah, I would substitute it with words like ooga booga, pickle-weasel, boingy boom, etc. and she just laughed and laughed. What a silly girl, indeed.

Thank You For HELPing us.

The other night when I couldn't sleep, I devised something to help all of you help us. A major source of stress for us is when we take Olivia out in public and everyone proceeds to try to touch her. Even though it is summer, there are all kinds of illnesses going around. . .including pneumonia which would be detrimental to Olivia's health. Because we can't decipher what illness would be okay for her to have and what illness would not, we need to protect her. Our doctor recommends this up until the age of two. Once Olivia starts crawling, we won't be able to protect her as much, but until then. . .it is just the way we are and the way our life is right now.

So, I ask. . .please do not come up and touch her. We don't know if you've been sick or if you're going to call us that night and say you've suddenly fallen ill. It's just too stressful for us. This is in the forefront of our minds every day and it's exhausting to constantly protect her and try to live a normal life. I know it's harder for other people to remember, so I made up something to HELP you HELP us (hey, I have to do something productive as I'm lying awake in bed.)

Before you touch Olivia, think about these four things that spell HELP:

Are you Healthy?

Have you been Exposed to an illness within the last few days? Maybe you are well, but your entire family is sick.

Have you Lathered your hands with soap and water? I'm talking about immediately before touching her.

Have you Purelled your hands? Again, immediately before.

Please ask yourself these simple questions before attempting to touch Olivia. We truly appreciate all of your help. It would eliminate a lot of stress for us. Thank you. . .and they'll be a quiz on this tomorrow. . heehee.

Sunday, July 13, 2008 - Update

I hope you all had a great weekend.

I was able to spend time with all of my grandparents.

We had family pictures and I smiled really big.

And, tomorrow is my Aunt Shelley's birthday. Happy Birthday!

My family has a lot of summer birthdays.

Here I am with my mom and dad. I love when we all spend time together.

From Shea's post, I thought I would post a little update on Olivia's eyes. She goes back into the eye doctor on the 22nd and we continue to patch her for 4 hours each day. She is still crossing her eyes, but we're seeing some improvement. The BIG news is. . .we think that, after 10 1/2 months, her tear ducts may have opened! For many babies, they do open on their own, but all of her doctors have said that hers most likely would not. We have had to wipe her eyes at least 5-10 times every day to keep them from matting shut. We have not, however, had to clean them for the last three days and they've been amazingly clear. We are not quite ready to call it a victory yet, but if they did indeed open on their own. . .she would not need surgery to open them. That would be an amazing blessing and one we will continue praying for!!