Welcome Gracelyn Rose

My sister had her baby today! Our very own Georgia peach! Gracelyn was born at 9:44am and weighed 8lbs 9oz. She was 20 1/4in long. Mom and baby are doing well. Auntie, not so well. It is killing me that I am not there to hug, kiss, and love on my newest niece. The distance btwn us was not too bad, until this morning. I long to be there. When Libby was born, I got to cut her cord. This time, I won't get to even see Gracie until she is 3 months old! A long weekend trip to GA/AL is sounding better and better. not that it's really all that feasible. I would feel horrible going and leaving the kids behind, yet taking them makes the trip over $700.

Anyway, she has arrived, they finally settled on a name and all is well. I would rather like to put a rush order on Christmas getting here! That's when they will come to visit!

woke up this morning and...

No headache. Whew! Since I have been sick with this cold, i cough thru the night and wake with a headache. Of course, stress probably has a small roll in it all too. I posted about my cousin's baby Lilly. Well, Friday I got a msg that my A Bev was taken to the hospital and at first we knew very little. It was very stressful. One of those moments that literally drop you to your knees to beg the good Lord for mercy! My friday started with a call from my mom. She told me that my sister was diagnosed with PUPPS. Her blood pressure was also pretty high and she is swelling quite a bit. However, her OB said they would leave it for now as the C-section is scheduled for Monday. Then mom went on to tell me that baby Lilly is not doing quite as well as we had thought. They cannot get her sodium levels to lower. And the hospital doesn't know why they are so high. In order to attempt to lower them, they had to give her an IV solution and strictly monitor her fluid intake, while they attempted to lower the sodium level. In the process, Rachel was unable to feed Lilly at all. no breastfeeding, no bottle of expressed milk, nothing. Bc it is such a delicate process, she could take in no other fluid, other than thru IV. It was nerve racking for the family. If they dropped her levels too quickly, it could result in seizures, coma, even death. If they don't get them dropped the same things could happen. Add to all this that the hospital told the family t hey have never dealt with this type of syndrome and they can't find anyone/anywhere else who has. They are going at it blind and Lilly is a pioneer. But wait there's more. Rachel's mom had to come back home because she has to work (cannot afford time off and has two pt jobs to try to keep their house). Her sister and dad are down there right now. But, Chris, rachel's hubby/Lilly's dad, has to return to work tomorrow for much of same reasons. He cannot take time off under FMLA bc he is the sole provider and they have to pay their bills. it's horrible. He will be in Port Huron, his wife and baby in Detroit, a few hours away. My heart breaks. And I want so bad to be down there for them, but i have this cold (maybe bronchitis) and the last thing any of them need is to get sick from me. So i have to stay away. I am hoping that by the end of this week I will be feeling better and able to go down there. Please keep prayers coming. For Lilly, for the family.

After my conversation with my mom, i started doing housework. I walked past the computer and noticed a msg from my A Jean and stopped to read it. She was letting us know that A bev was in the hospital and she was heading up north (about 2.5 hours). She knew very little. It was a stressful time waiting for word from someone to let us know how she got there, why she got there, and what was going on. Then we got word that she was in exploratory surgery but as the "telephone game" goes, info gets distorted. we were told that they were going to operate bc she had a hole in her stomach but the xray showed air in her chest that shouldn't have been there and they were leaning towards gall bladder issues. well, none of that added up quite right to me. A lil later we discovered she was in exploratory surgery, there was a hole, they had to find where the hole was and she could possibly come home with a colostomy bag. Wow. So much to digest in a morning. As it turns out, she has a perforated ulcer and she came thru surgery well and they will keep her a week. Please keep her in your prayers. She has so graciously given up the life she had built down state to move up north to live with gma and look after her. The nearest relative to them is about an hour away. we need prayers for a speedy and full recovery and for everything to fall into place.

On a positive note, an old friend contacted me (gotta love fb) and mentioned getting together for coffee one day after kids go to school. We have stayed in minimal contact over the years, because, while we met when we were about 4 yrs old, it turned out that several years later, my uncle and her aunt were married (My uncle Ken/Aunt lisa) so thru family functions and such, we see other from time to time. But, like most things, life gets in the way and we did not stay close. Well, about 2 yrs ago, she moved to a house down the road from here. I am looking forward to coffee time with an old friend and hopefully building a new friendship. I have let friendships go to the wayside over the years only to realize I am now 30 yrs old, my only real friend lives hundreds of miles away and I just haven't built any newer friendships. I never seemed to take the time. So my goal is to work on that.

Well Makenneh and I are making a Christmas list. I know, who wants to think about that right now. But, I want to start shopping while I have the extra money. so, I am gonna get off here and work on her list. Please keep the prayers coming!

Welcome Lilliana

My cousin Rachel had her baby September 10th at 10:07am. She weighed 6lb 8oz and is 20 inches long. Her name is Lilliana Elizabeth.

There were some complications and I would like to ask for your prayers and thoughts. Lilly was born with a syndrome known as Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum. That means that the part of her brain that connects the right and left hemispheres, the Corpus Collosum, is partially or completely missing. She was having some difficulty with breathing at birth, but has since gotten better. She was sent a few days ago, via ambulance to Children's Hospital of Detroit, for further evaluation. It has been a rough couple of days for the family as they digest all this new information and come to terms with the diagnosis. Rachel is doing well...she knows that Lilliana is a gift from God and she loves her no matter what.

I started posted this a few days ago and was interrupted, so I will finish with the updates from the past few days. She passed her vision and hearing tests. Her heart and lungs are functioning good. They did an MRI yesterday late afternoon. We are awaiting those results. IN the meantime, they have noticed that her sodium levels are too high and they don't know why. So, until they can figure that out, she will remain at Children's Hospital. The doctor said it could be a day, or it could be two weeks. Praying that it is something that can be managed and that she can come home soon! You can view her hospital pics by clicking here.

School is in full swing for the kids and me. Sebastian has gotten a lot better about going. I do not have to hear "I don't like school" every night and every morning. I do not know if/what his teacher is doing, but I did tell her about it in the note I sent her. She requested that each parent send a note telling her about our child so she find the best way to reach them. I think that is so awesome. You can tell she genuinely loves her job. I think she is going to be a positive influence on Sebastian and hopefully reshape his dislike for school.

Makenneh ended up not getting the teacher I requested because that teacher moved to a different building. So, the weekend before school started, I received a letter that she had a different teacher. Makenneh was very disappointed. She was really looked forward to having hte other teacher and she cried alligator tears. I assured her that this new teacher sounds very nice and read her the letter from the new teacher, pointing out the similarities they shared, such as a love for animals. She came home on the first day and was happy with the new teacher. My mother in law attended the back to school open house (bc I had class) and so was able to meet the teacher. The teacher uses hands on methods to teach kids and it sounds like the learning is going to be a blast in this classroom. For instance, to teach kids about money, she lets them earn "money" by good behavior and such. Then, once every so often (not sure if it's weekly, monthly, or what) she lets the kids use their earned money to shop at the store. The store is a bunch of small items she has purchased herself at dollar stores or whatever. The kids will have to learn how much money is needed to purchase what they want, how much change they should get back, etc. Very neat idea.

I like all my classes, except Art Appreciation. The teacher is a flake. And talks in monotone and goes on and on for the entire class, using powerpoint. With no point, it seems, to her lecture.

Mom and dad are in Georgia. They left Sept 11. They won't be back until Oct. 8th or so. Carrie was excited to be able to have them there for that long. Her C-section is scheduled for Sept 20th. She is hoping to be in the new house (in Alabama) by then. I don't know how realistic that goal is, but at least they have extra hands down there right now to help with it all.

Well, that's about it for me tonight. I feel like i don't have much time anymore to sit and think about things to post on here and when I do have things, well, i don't have time. So, til next time, take care and please keep Lilliana and the family in your thoughts and prayers!