Thursday, April 8, 2010 - Update

Olivia and I had lunch with Nurse Holli and her little boy, Logan. It was great to see them! Our two kids had never met and it was nice to get them together. I'm so excited that they will be walking at the March for Babies with us again this year. Logan was there last time, but he was still in his mama's tummy. Thanks for coming all the way out to meet us! We had a great time!

Me with Logan and Olivia

Also, I will be turning in all of the March for Babies money on April 15th, so you still have time to donate. Sadly, I don't think I'm going to meet my goal. We have sponsored 75 days of Olivia's hospital stay, but she didn't go home until she was 105 days old. So, if you've thought about donating. . .I would love you to. It goes to a great cause to help ALL babies. Just click on the link to the right to donate or sign up on our team. Thanks to everyone for your support.

Happy Birthday Grandma Mary!

First time Grandma Mary held Olivia. Dec 2007
Her birthday is tomorrow April 8th!!! Leave your well wishes here. :)

My Thoughts on Prayer

Over the last few years, I have struggled a lot with the reasons for prayer. I'm sure I have shared this once before. I know WHY we pray, but I don't know why we pray for specific things. If those things aren't God's will, why do we pray for them? I grew up always believing that you only have to ask and you shall receive. After the premature birth of my children and the death of my son. . . how can that be true? I don't know how many times I prayed for my children both before and after I got pregnant. Is praying going to change God's mind? And if it can. . .what did I do wrong when I prayed on my children's behalf? Did I not get enough people to pray? Did I not pray correctly? Did I pray right for Olivia, but not for Logan? It is our human nature to rely on God to "take away" our hardships. Anyone who has been through an excrutiatingly painful time knows that isn't true. HE doesn't take away difficult times. . .but HE does help you through it. Does HE give you more than you can handle? YES. But, HE doesn't give you more than HE can handle.

Why am I talking about this tonight? I don't know. A few weeks ago, I realized something. I was getting so frustrated with Olivia's lack of eating and her struggles with oral sensitivity. It seemed no one could help me and I didn't know what to do. I realized that never once had I prayed about it. Now, don't get me wrong. I pray. I pray prayers of thanksgiving. . .I pray for strength. . .I pray for peace, I pray for others, but I still struggle when praying for specific things. I put that aside and I just asked God to help Olivia eat better so that she can grow big and strong. I asked God to help me know how to help her and to relieve the stress that it causes me. Then, while sick. . .she didn't eat for 5 days. :) However, after that. . .it's as if something clicked and she learned that food is okay to eat and swallow. And, not just every once in awhile with pizza or ice cream cake. (Sometimes she didn't even want to eat that.) Now, she is eating on a fairly consistent basis. She may never be a great eater, but she is coming such a long way. Is it because of my prayer? I don't know. Maybe that unknown is why we pray for specific things. It doesn't hurt to let God know what you feel that you need. Don't we want our children to let us know what they want even though there is no possible way that you could give it to them? They may not understand it, but you know what is best. So does our Father. . .no matter how painful that may be at times. But still. . . .pray.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - Update

Monday, April 5, 2010 - Update

This past week has been amazing! Why? Olivia is eating. . .actually eating. I don't know what has changed, but she's eating better than she has in her entire life. Please pray that this isn't short lived. I can't tell you what a relief it brings to our whole family. What a change! What an answer to prayer!

Olivia's First Easter Egg Hunt

We spent the day over at Grandma and Grandpa Glunt's house. After a fabulous lunch, we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and then had an Easter egg hunt. It was Olivia's first Easter egg hunt and I didn't know how much she'd understand. She did amazing and collected 14 eggs! And, I don't think she could have looked any cuter doing it.

Alex and Katie and their swing "invention."

We get to hunt for eggs??

I found one!

Oooh, there's another!

And another. . .

Do you see all of my pretty eggs?

I picked them myself.

Here's another one.

And another one.

I'm good at this.

Now, let's see what I got!

Happy Easter!

An Afternoon At The Park

What can I say? My girl LOVES to slide!!

Friday, April 2, 2010 - Update

Olivia and the Easter Bunny

Just wanted to show you a quick picture of Olivia. Olivia did not enjoy visiting with the Easter Bunny. Apparently the thought of a large, walking bunny rabbit kinda creeped her out. You can not, however, notice her extreme displeasure in this picture. :) Anyway, two out of the three of us are on antibiotics (yes, I'm still holding strong. . .) Olivia is experiencing antibiotic induced daddy-ria (as she calls it.) Ryan has a bad sinus infection. Hopefully, everyone is in top-notch shape by this weekend.

Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Update

My husband's attempt at being artsy :)

The more I looked at this picture, the more I liked it. It's not the first time God provided a beautiful vision of pink when it seemed nothing else remained. It reminded me of how thankful I am for my little girl. She continues to bring us such joy.

Helping In The Garden

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - Update

Should've eaten one of these every day.

Don't let the picture fool you. I ate most of the apple and then she wanted it so that she can take bites and then spit it out in little pieces. I only wish she was eating the apple. That's how she eats most of her food. The girl doesn't like to swallow. I tell ya, I will go out to dinner and watch other toddlers snarf down their food and I'm so incredibly jealous!! I just sit and stare at them in amazement. . .they open their mouths, put food in, chew it up and swallow it. I just wish I knew what to do. I know she has something wrong, but I don't know what and I don't know what to do. Don't criticize, but she still takes a bottle a day. That's the only way to get some calories in her. She's very particular about her sippy cups and will not drink any milk out of them. . only water and juice. She'll drink 8+ oz of milk in a bottle, but only takes 1 or 2 sips from a cup. I get so frustrated. I am, however, thrilled that she is feeling better. Too bad my husband is now sick with possibly the same stuff. I thought it was spring? Shouldn't all of this be over with? :)

Olivia

This morning, Olivia woke up 90% better. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Olivia Update

This evening went much better than our morning did. We actually got the antibiotic to stay down and she ate a bit. . .like, a few crumbs, but that's something. Maybe this means we're on the mend. I found out yesterday that Madison (daughter of my friend, Stacie) has pneumonia, so please be praying for her. Lots of illnesses going around, it seems. . . nasty illnesses. This is definitely the most sick Olivia has been since we brought her home from the hospital. And, I'm no good at having a sick child. I fret A LOT and drive myself insane with worry. My heart breaks every time Olivia cries. I just want this illness to go away!!

Olivia

Please pray for Olivia. She is a lot worse this morning, can't keep anything down (including her antibiotic) I've never seen her like this and it scares me.

Friday, March 26, 2010 - Update

Here's a pic from earlier this week.

We're still fighting this nasty illness, but I think we're gaining the upper hand. Olivia still has barely eaten in 3 days and we're trying our hardest to keep her hydrated. She has thrown up a handful of times, which haven't helped matters, but is mainly due to severe congestion. It's like watching those ounces (that we worked so hard for) just disappear. Olivia has almost a constant cough that sounds awful. Thankfully, when the doctor listened to her lungs, they sounded clear. . .amazing for a former 23 weeker on the vent for 2 months. The hardest thing is seeing that glimmer disappear from her eyes. I just want her to start feeling better soon.

Thursday, March 25, 2010 - Update

We went to the doctor today. Olivia had a little bit of fluid accumulating in her ears which they thought was the start of an ear infection. She tested negative for strep and they think it's just a virus. We switched her over to Motrin as she still has a temp and that has perked her up a bit more. She is sleeping now, but has been playing as usual today (without the gusto that she normally has.) She hasn't eaten a thing in two days and we're trying to keep fluids up. This will be great for her weight gain. . .hohum. Hopefully, she'll start feeling better soon.