Girlie Girl

I was never a girlie girl growing up, I know I know it's a shock to those of you who know me, ha ha. You've always pictured me taking dance and being a cheerleader haven't you? I hate to burst your bubble, but I was a total tomboy...again shocker I know. So how is it that I am totally over the moon about all things sweet, sassy and girlie? If it's froo froo, frilly, or monogrammed I, I mean SK just has to have it.

Take a look at my girl...





Yes, she is totally wearing a tutu and wore it all day long Saturday just b/c she can. I would have died first if I had been her, am I doing her a disservice here b/c I think she is unbelievably darling. Her outfits have nothing to do w/how precious she is to me though? All this outfit talk is just a guilty pleasure of mine. She is so precious to me b/c God has entrusted me with her care while here on this earth. It is still hard to see all this as a blessing but nevertheless with God's wisdom and strength I will care for her to the absolute best of my ability until the day I or she is called home.

Her smile every morning or when I have been gone from her for a few hours is so sweet, it is the best part about waking up to me. Please forgive me, my boys just don't wake up smiling, they make me smile every other minute of the day when I most need it, but mornings are not their strong suit.

Sophie Kate knows me, how special am I that she knows me and her daddy and her brothers. In fact, she knows a lot more than I give her credit for...she knows her name, she knows when someone is talking to her, she knows when she's outside b/c it's when she's most happy, she knows when she's standing (with assistance of course), please God let her know she's loved.

Her smile is absolutely infectious...



Jacob's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, please pray for him. He is completely unfazed by all this stuff, he is not worried one bit, so I am going to take my cues from him. I'll tell ya, I hope life never falls hard enough on him to take away who he is. God's got something great planned for this boy.

We are to be at the hospital at 8am, not sure exactly what time his surgery is scheduled for but I will update the website with information when I can. Thanks, guys

A Day Out

Why is that that I spent hours away from my kids and all the stuff I came home with was still for them? I guess it's b/c I just can't stay away from all the cute little clothes that are out there for SK. I had a mom's day out today thanks to my sweet friends. Now I definitely made time to have lunch with a friend, but I also did some shopping for the kids too. It really would not have mattered what I did, the only requirement was that it was a grown-ups only day.

I actually got out of my car at the different places I went today and walked straight to the door. I didn't have to get anyone unbuckled or in a stroller or have to keep anyone else from getting run over, what a concept...get out of the car and walk to the door. I felt like I was leaving something behind all day long. Oh, I certainly don't wish it was like that all the time, but it's always a treat for me to be out and about by myself from time to time.

A friend of mine stayed at my house and kept Sophie Kate and get this, she brought her violin and played it for SK. Is that not the sweetest thing? I'm sure it was a very sweet moment for them, SK has never heard the violin before and she loves music so much. To know y'all love her even when you don't have to means the world to me, that little girl has no idea how loved she is, what a blessing.

On a different note, Jacob's ear surgery has been moved up to Tuesday of next week so please be in prayer for him that day. Also, we have been having a rough time with Sophie this week in the evening and nighttime again. I don't know if we are still dealing with medication issues or what, but the nonstop crying from 6 or 6:30 until 10 or 11 is getting old, we are all frazzled and on edge b/c of it. She is an absolute angel from the time she wakes up until about 6 or 6:30pm from then on out nothing will console her, even if she is exhausted she will fight it to the bitter end. There is nothing I can do for her during this time, it kills me. Thank you for being diligent in bringing this before the throne of our Father.

On an even lighter note, my friend and I bought Trussville's Learning Express out of their last 3 bags of animals bracelets (all the rage here in the Birmingham area). So I get to be mother of the year when my kids get off the bus this afternoon, that's right way too much money for a bag of rubber bands that my children probably won't even care about in another week or two, if they hold out that long, but for a few moments they will think I am the best mama EVER!! Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!

In Good Times and Bad

Hooray for the three day weekend! Not having to get up and go anywhere was just the best, wasn't it? I hope it was for your family as well. We spent the weekend at my parent's house. My two oldest spent the night at their cousin's house Sunday night, Chad and the G-man bunked together, so when I woke up Monday morning I went and got the little princess and we spent a lazy morning together. She has been in a much better mood lately so we had some catching up and bonding to do and she was all smiles.

Hallelujah, we are 2 weeks and 2 days seizure free. I spoke to one of her doctors on Friday when we were trying to work out all of this new medication stuff. I had told y'all earlier that one of the medicines she was taking had a side effect of seizures and about the time we doubled her dose of that medicine (Baclofen) was about the time her seizures started so I was the one who was pushing for switching to a new med just to see if that might be the cause of her seizures. Well, when I talked to him on Friday I told him that we had been 1 week and 5 days seizure free to which he replied to me that he still wasn't convinced that her Baclofen was the cause of her seizures. You know what, I got to thinking over the weekend especially now that we are 2 weeks and 2 days w/o a seizure that maybe he's right...stay with me here. Maybe he's right, maybe taking her off the Baclofen isn't the cause for her being seizure-free, maybe we need to be giving credit were credit and praise is due. Well, really there is no maybe about it.

The Great Physician is at work here and with Him anything is possible. We have been praying for healing and for the ceasing of SK's seizures. We have been praying for God's wisdom and this has been proven to us over and over again...sometimes God chooses to work an absolute miracle, and He can do that at any moment, and then sometimes God chooses to work through us (His sons and daughters) and through modern medicine...whatever the route He decides to go it is ALL HIM and we are giving God 100% of the praise and glory for 2 weeks and 2 days w/o seizures. But please know this friends, if SK's seizures start back up 1 minute after I write these words, we will still be glorifying and praising God, not for the seizures, but for His love and faithfulness to us. For His promise never to leave us or forsake us, for the assurance we have as children of God that nothing can take us out of His mighty hands, that He will see us through and cause us to preserve in whatever life brings. We don't just praise and glorify Him for what He can do for us and give us, we praise, glorify and worship Him for who He is and we have found with everything we have been through, He never changes. He is the same loving God in the good times and He is the same loving God in the incredibly tough times.

I know I went way off on a tangent there but it is so important to me that I do not misconstrue words here...our sovereign Lord has chosen to answer some of our requests with a yes, He has answered some of our requests with a no, and he has answered some of our requests with a not right now. I don't understand it all and even harder for me to come to grips with is that it may not ever be for me to understand while on this earth , but one thing is for certain...God and God alone will be praised, worshipped and glorified in this house no matter what the circumstances. He has proven Himself faithful to us when He never had anything to prove.

We are still working through the dosages that SK needs with her new med so please continue to pray that each day gets better and better for her and that God continues to rain down his wisdom on us. We are so thankful for all your prayers.

If Sophie ain't Happy ain't Nobody Happy

Alright, is everyone ready for college football kickoff weekend?!? We are totally pumped, in fact, so much more so b/c we are watching a game right now, yes Thursday night college football. You think you have to wait until Saturday and then Oh, what's this? A little gift from the football gods. Once all the seasons are underway, the only two days of the week that we will be w/o football are Tuesday and Wednesday, like I said in the last post, the most awesomeness of distractions.

Back to reality, but just for a little bit b/c it's really all I can take. I have had it up to here (you can't see me but my hand is way up high in the air) with reality. This has been an extremely difficult week for Miss Sassy. Unfortunately, she has not been feeling sassy in any way. The changing of medications is going horribly for SK. The only reason we are continuing on this path is b/c since we stopped her Baclofen (med given for muscle tightness) she hasn't had a seizure. We have been a week and 4 days seizure free and any other time you all would hear me screaming like a crazy person from my rooftop, but the other med we have started SK on to take the place of her Baclofen is not doing the trick.

She is absolutely miserable, crying constantly until 1:30 or 2:00am, unable to relax enough to sleep or even take a nap during the day. It is breaking my heart to see her this way, my happy smiley girl is gone and I feel terrible for putting her through this. So now we are faced with this most difficult question...go back on the medicine that made her our happy girl, but brought seizures along with it or stick it out with this new medicine with her miserable??

I am talking to doctors and pharmacists about this so we are trying to figure this thing out, but we need some serious wisdom from the Great Physician here. This constant crying is wearing on the whole family, sometimes we are not saying nice things to each other. I want my happy smiley girl back from this summer b/c if Sophie ain't happy ain't nobody happy in this house, it ain't right but that's just the way it is.

I am hoping for a better weekend compared to the week we've had, time for just hanging out, doing nothing, and not having to worry about homework, if Cooper manages to get through 3rd grade w/o me giving him an ulcer it will be a miracle. I really hate to say we need a break already b/c this is not how I pictured the school year to start (with so many issues, surgeries, etc). If we are needing a break this bad already I cringe to think the shape we are going to be in come Christmas, but nevertheless I am going to say it "We need a break."

I am looking forward to a 3 day weekend, please pray that SK is too. Thanks for checking in on us.

The Most Awesomeness of Distractions

Ahhh...the sights and sounds of football are returning to the area. The boy's flag football games have started, the high school games have started which means that college and NFL games are soon to follow. The one thing that the start of September signals is the beginning of college football season, it's been a long 9 months and we are sooo ready.

These flag football games are so fun, we have a ball doing this...









Sk just likes to sit around and look cute...





Last week definitely took it's toll both physically and emotionally. We have a surgery date set for Jacob in October. The CT scan on Thursday showed the doctor exactly what he needed to know about this cyst that is in Jacob's right ear. It is very involved with the bones and structures of the ear. There are going to be two surgeries: the first one to remove the cyst and any surrounding structures and then about 6 months later a second surgery to rebuild the bones of the inner ear. Yes, I can hardly believe that all this is happening to my little boy. I have NEVER heard of anything like this before.

His hearing will not be good in between the surgeries but should be better after the second surgery. His left ear is fine and his hearing is great in that ear. His attitude is so good about everything, Jacob just doesn't have a bad day, it's not in his nature. He has the sweetest most kind heart and it breaks mine to know he will be in pain.

We are in the process of exchanging one of SK's medicines for another. It's not the seizure med, it's the meds she gets for her muscle tightness. The process is not going well and I am beginning to second guess myself on this decision. She's irritable, not comfortable and not sleeping so unless things get better over the next 3 days I may find myself going back to how things were before. I was wanting to try her off that particular medicine b/c it has been known to cause seizures. Please pray for this process, I desperately want to do the right thing for her.

Now back to the most awesomeness of distractions...football. It brings with it cooler temps, get togethers with friends and family, tailgating food and fantasy football match ups every Sunday. Now that the boys are into it, it just makes it that much more fun.

I know there is always something with us. I'm sick of it, I know you all must be. I want to be bored so bad. Thanks for sticking with us on this journey.

The Long Version

My baby girl is sleeping so sweetly right now, it's her first good nap of the day. Lots of different people have been very interested in her today and she is exhausted, as is her mama.

Lots to fill you all in on today. The short version is that Sophie Kate is having what is called partial seizures. The long version is that her neurologist is actually relieved that that is the only type of seizure she is having. Lots of SK's doctors have told me different versions of "well it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be" and "she's not as bad as she sounds." Yes, I know those do not necessarily sound like stellar reviews, but I will take it, that is what happened again today.

The doctor told us that her EEG showed NO seizure activity (stick w/me b/c here's where it gets complicated). From what I understand and believe me that is very limited right now, other types of seizures show up very plainly on an EEG and it is not in a good way.

Since SK had NO seizure activity (Praise God) and based on my description of what her "episodes" look like, he said that they are partial seizures. Partial seizures are the easiest type to treat according to our neurologist. The other type of seizure that he thought she might be having is a tonic seizure and it is much more complex and difficult to control. So I guess what I am trying to say in this "long version" explanation is that if she is going to be having seizures this is the best type to have besides having none at all. Does any of this make sense to anyone, b/c it barely does to me?

SK continues to have about 1-2 seizures a week, so we now have options to consider...to medicate or not to medicate. We have been given all the information on this subject we have also been given the prescription so it is now up to us whether or not to get it filled and start giving it to SK. We have been told by her doctor that giving it or choosing not to give it are both reasonable options for us right now. So we will pray for God's wisdom and direction, do some of our own research, and then pray some more to determine the best course of action for our baby girl.

It's been quite a day full of lots of stuff I wish I didn't have to deal with, but all in all I am at peace with what has happened today. I am not freaking out, except for when I went to 3rd grade parent chat night. Evidently partial seizures I can handle but 3rd grade reading and writing expectations I cannot.

Please continue to pray for our family, we have Jacob's CT scan and a meeting with his surgeon coming up on Thursday. It's a lot to handle when I think of it all at one time but God is keeping us in the moment and is carrying us through this in only the way that He can. Thanks for checking in on us.

Some Light Reading

I have decided to detour away from some of the depressing topics we have been covering lately. I am tired of thinking about and discussing EEG's, seizures, CT scans and surgeries. We are in for a beautiful weekend here which also brings with it the start of Cooper and Jacob's flag football games. So how 'bout only topics for light reading today?

We got some statistics on SK the other day when we took her to the neurologist. She weighs 27 pounds and is 34 inches long. As if we all didn't know already that she was growing like a weed, it has now been confirmed for us. I keep saying that I am going to go back and look at Cooper's baby book to see where she compares to him. I am really thinking she's got him beat in the height department. It would take a lot to beat him in the weight category 'cause he was a big time chunker and Miss Sassy is most definitely not that, but she sure is a long-legged princess.

Now forgive me while I delve into even further frivolity, which would be the subject of SK's wardrobe. I have received the outfit that will be the centerpiece of her fall collection and I want to share it with y'all, b/c even though this does not matter not one bit on this earth, there is a tiny part of my being that gets totally excited over her sweet little clothes. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.

I have recently discovered "Etsy." It's an online store that sells lots of things, but the only thing I am interested in are the handmade baby clothes. I'm sure some of you are laughing that it took me so long, it's probably been around a while, hasn't it? Nevertheless, I know better now so I will do better. So here it is the outfit to end all outfits...



The only thing that will make this little dress and hat cuter to me is when I see my little Sophie in it, darling!

Lastly, with all the gamers I have in my house, it is no wonder that eventually little Grey would be powerless against the vortex that is sucking him in to the world of video games. He succumbed to it's power last night. There they sat, the three of them...Cooper and Jacob playing their DS's and Grey playing our old leapster which he very affectionately calls his "big fat DS." Please do not call it his leapster he will have no idea what you are talking about it is the "big fat DS" end of story.

So there you have it, no "deep thoughts" today, it's Friday and God already has next week taken care of no matter how much I worry about it. He holds our future in His hands and in His hands is a very comfortable place to be. Have a great weekend!