God said,"Get Moving!"

Happy Birthday!

2011-05-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Bubba!

Micah's Dedication

2010-10-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning,

Sunday, October 10th,

Micah is going to be dedicated!

At 9:30am in our Cafe service.

Come join us if you can!

We are very excited to be surrounded by family and friends as Micah and our family is blessed.

147SpareMoments

2010-09-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

You may be asking, many have. What is 147SpareMoments? You could say it's a product of how God has been moving in our hearts and developing a heart for orphans over the years.

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Here's my story...

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For me this all became more real once we came home with Micah. When life was turned upside down and we were working to find our "New Normal" I realized I needed more "breaks" to unwind and do something fun. I love to do crafts, sew, knit really anything crafty. I was also looking around my house at all the abandoned craft supplies that had not surfaced since we began a family 7 years ago.

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Hang with me here.

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During this early bonding time with Micah my heart was so overwhelmed with love for our little guy and how much richer our lives are with him. I wanted to do more....more for orphans....more for families wanting to adopt....just more. I knew that we could not adopt another at the moments or maybe even ever. I also knew our budget was a bit limited at the time. I also knew my time was the most limited. God has also been working on my heart regarding how excessive we live here in the US. I've been asking myself "What can I do right now with what I have?" I've been purging and working to only keep what we need and buy only what we need.

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Now back to the craft supplies...

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So as I looked around I started to see projects I could either finish or start from scratch. I then wondered about making items and selling them on our blog and then donating the money to orphans.
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One day as my friend,Brandy and I were watching our kids swim we were talking about all this and brainstorming. My friend had also been contemplating similar topics. Her family is also an adoptive family. Recently, I had helped her make a skirt and we had just finished making a purse out of the remnants. When she wore this purse out and about she began to receive compliments and requests for them. Hmm...we started thinking and praying. She had also recently started to play with the idea of opening an Etsy shop. After a bit of time, we decided to take the leap, open a shop and donate all the profits to orphans. We are passionate about orphans finding the families God intended for them.

Now for a name...what to call it....hmmm...We came up with 147SpareMoments. The meaning is that there are 147million orphans in the world and we are using our spare moments in life to make a difference in there lives. We've promised ourselves to not get overwhelmed and to take this where God leads.

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We are listing a variety of items and we are hoping to provide "country specific" adoption items that can be hard to find at times.

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Come check it out!
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http://www.etsy.com/shop/147sparemoments

Where have we been?

2010-09-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

When summer arrived we were greatly anticipating a more relaxed schedule. After all, isn't that what summer is about? We all really needed some R&R since the last year has been so intense. Our summer was filled with fun activities and swim date. Micah's appointments slowed down to only 2-3 a week. I was feeling like I needed a break from blogging, however never intended it to be this long. It seemed like summer flew by and before we knew it we were prepping to go back to school, including Micah. Yikes! As that transition was happening I was just trying to make sure everyone got to where they needed to go with what they needed. Along the way we also started to receive appointments in the mail. I just continued to plug the appointments in the calendar and make sure I got to where Micah and I needed to go. About half way through September I realized that in September we are blessed to have the resources to get to attend 19 appointments in 22 business days. Holy Cow! From that point on I decided that it's okay if I feel a bit overwhelmed in September. That's reality. Looking ahead into October and November we should only have 10-12 a month...YES! We are so blessed in so many ways! Micah continually is a blessing to us daily. His smile penetrates straight to people's hearts. He is truly captivating to play with, he just pulls you in and you don't want to do anything else but soak in his joy!

In the days and weeks to come I have a lot to share about the last few months and some things coming so stay tuned.....

One year ago today....next milestone

2010-08-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the "Decision Day". One year ago that we made it publicly known that we were pursuing Micah's adoption. On this day we officially shot our hearts across the world and began the crazy and amazing paper chase to reach Micah.

***More will come soon*** We are transitioning from summer to school and I hope to be back very soon with many pictures of all we've been doing this summer.

One year ago today...

2010-06-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

we layed eyes on this precious picture of baby Samuel, a.k.a. baby Coffee

and we prayed

and we asked you all to pray

One year later...

Micah Paul Coombs is a miracle!

Thank you all for praying!

If You Give Micah a Mouse

2010-06-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

If You Give Micah a Mouse

He's gonna want to snuggle.

Snuggling with soft things is one of Micah's joys in life.

Micah has brought immeasureable JOY to our family.

A Memorable Monday

2010-06-09T00:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a Monday for the record books. I woke up knowing we had way too much to do that was mandatory and hoping the finely executed packed schedule would avoid a traditional "Monday" kind of day. All I can say was that it was memorable for sure (and successful).

The house was humming by 7am with the girls prepping for their last Monday of the school year. Micah woke up around 7:20. I swooped him into his feeding seat as a waiting place while I finished getting ready real quick. Usually we start heading to the van around 7:40 to get the girls to school on time and avoid the treacherous parking lot of crazy driving. So I'm ready, girls are ready, few minutes to spare I start directing the girls to the van while going to get Micah to the van. As I am going to pick him up to my horror I discover Micah sitting in a pool of poop with one hand dipped and smearing his seat.....NICE! My brain starts racing. The girls come running to inquire about what the panic is about. Cara INSTANTLY begins gagging-hand over mouth and runs to barf. Chloe was disgusted and honestly I think she went to hide in the car. I don't remember much of anyone who did not have a bodily fluid issue during that 5 minutes. I grab the bath seat and start the tub. Cara returns and again INSTANTLY begins the gagging sequence. Next I drag the feeding seat to the bathroom for a "clean" transfer of the poopy child to the tub. AGAIN, Cara returns...REPEAT SEQUENCE. Now I am rapidly cleaning Micah, telling Cara to get in the van and asking for a diaper to be brought. Cara was now beyond traumatized by 1) the poop, 2) the barfing 3 times, 3) I'm telling her she's going to school and 4) she thinks she is going to now be late. She says, "I can't go to school, I'm throwing up!" I say, "You have to go to school....It smells better!" She then went to the van without any complaining. At that moment I also went to flush what Cara had produced to only discover our toilet was not flushing properly and nothing would actually go down, just twirl...GREAT!

I quickly wrap a soaking wet Micah in a fresh diaper and hustle him off to the van leaving the catastrophic poop to be dealt with later. We are all in the car and in one piece by 7:46, not too bad. Off to school we go I drop the girls off and race home to recover from the nastiness that awaits us. Now Micah has had a great time through this all. Of course he would... he feels much better. He played, air dryed and watched cartoons while I began the clean up. It was at this time I had a moment to breath and realize I had been covered in poop...I had poop on my shoulders! Sooooo gross!

Now we were all cleaned, house was OUSTed, laundry was going and trash was taken out. NOW the actual busy day could resume. This is how it went...

Call to Doctors office to request info.

Call to Home Care to resolve formula issue. Current flavor of formula causes runny poop. Ya, let's get this fixed...TODAY!

Dentist Appointment for Micah-His 5 teeth are doing just fine.

Library-to pick up books

Doctor's office returns call and is working on info we need.

Target to get more bleach to finish clean-up along with a few other things

Missed call from Home Care.

Pick up Chloe from Kindergarten

Call Home Care back and hope to have UNFLAVORED formula soon.

Drop Chloe and Micah off with Mama and Abi so I could go to an appointment. I'm good too.

Pick up Micah and head to Valley Children's for an ENT appointment-This is where he chose to have his next big explosive diaper. In an exam room with no flat surface to change him on. As I was using the chair to change him the doctor walked in and was welcomed by his bare little bottom pointed right at her. She was a bit surprised. Great timing buddy. From the visit we learned Micah is doing well. He WILL NOT need any further surgury for his loud breathing. Everything else looked great.

Went to Medical Records to officially change his name.

Headed home and left the girls to swim with Mama and Papa until later.

Received call from Home Care and issue will be resolved on Tuesday, which it is! Yay!

Arrived home put Micah down for a nap and crashed myself for a bit.

As the girls were getting ready to come home I received a call from Randy. He was going to need to work late. Okay, grab the boot straps and some caffine here we go.

The girls came home, had dinner and we decided to read til bedtime. As we were reading chapter books Micah was playing on the floor. All of a sudden we heard the next very loud explosive diaper. I IMMEDIATELY jump to intervene in hopes of avoiding a further load of laundry. At the same time Cara says, "I hope he doesn't make me throw up again." and Chloe who is sitting right by me chimes in with,"I think I'm going to throw up ON him." as she catches a whiff of the odor. Oh my the joys of a baby brother.

Micah and I tucked the girls in bed.

Randy returns home safely to play with Micah and to get the toilet to flush the remains of the barfed bowl of cereal from the morning.

What a day this was....definitely memorable....

Court

2010-05-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

Court went well today. We did not know what to expect. Everything was very relaxed and easy going. We met family and friends at the courthouse after lunchtime. We all congregated in the hallway waiting to be called. Our case was the first one after lunch so that was encouraging. You never really know when a baby is going to expire when they are experiencing new surroundings.

I just love how Micah gazes up at his Daddy!

The Bailiff came out right on time to call our crew in to the court room. Everyone filed in and found a seat. Within a few minutes we were asked to come and sit at a table and the kids, or whoever else was able to enjoy the jury box if they chose. Of course all the kids took advantage of this special seating.

Once everyone was settled the Judge began. He went through a variety of formalities and them we were sworn in. The Judge then proceeded to ask us several questions basically confirming that we promise to take care of Micah in every possible way and that we are committed to being his forever family. Now in the midst of this, Micah decided to mix things up a bit. He was probably wondering why everything was so serious and thought a game of peek-a-boo was in order. His version of peek-a-boo is to throw his head back so we can kiss it, then he pulls it up and throws it back again almost instantly. So the game began in an attempt to keep him happy. Micah won the hearts of the Judge and theother court people who could see his smile and hear his talking.

Before we knew it we were done! It was really very fast. We shook the Judges hand and it was done. Now it was picture time.

Our family headed up to the Judges seat to take a family picture.

We then waited around for a few minutes waiting for the official stamped to be brought to us. Before we knew it we had six copies of official paperwork confirming all that had just took place. Now we can take this paperwork and have Micah's name changes officially from Sidamo Randy Coombs to Micah Paul Coombs. This is really a surreal feeling to realize the great significance of this day. Micah has a world of possibilities ahead of him. I'm so excited to see all that God is going to make him into.

Next...The After Party! I scream....You scream....We all scream.....for Ice Cream!

Day of Stimulation

2010-05-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today was quite a day! Micah started his day bright and early at the Pediatrician for his one year check-up. He is now weighing in at 15 lbs 3 oz. and is 26-1/4 inches long. Micah did well and him and daddy were home just in time for him to get a nap.

Soon after nap Micah got all spiffied up along with the rest of the family in our most patriotic colored clothing. Today was his re-adopt court date. He is now officially Micah Paul Coombs and is a US citizen! Woo Hoo! He did very well the whole time. There were no instances of foul gas, blow outs, crying or anything else embarrassing.

To celebrate Micah's new status we had an ice cream sundae "After Party" with family and close friends. At this point Micah was wasted and fussy, so once everyone saw him he went off to bed promptly. Now, you would think he would actually sleep. He stalled his rest time not realizing how much he was going to wish he had just fallen asleep. He layed in bed for a good hour and a half just talking to his fish tank and then his blankets. He jibber jabbed most of his naptime away.

Late in the afternoon our friends stopped by to be a part of the celebration. Micah was still awake so we brought him out to say Hi since he wasn't sleeping anyway. Then again, he turned on the fussiness and we returned him to his nap. This time he did sleep, thankfully.

Micah's next and final event of the day was to experience a birthday party at Chuck &. Cheese for a family member. Going into this I was wondering how he was going to take all of this. Talk about sensory overload. Again Micah had a variety of people to meet who were enamored with him and enjoying his sweet dispositon. He faired it all well. He never really got fussy or grumpy. As long as one of us was holding him he was all good. Weather it be cuddling with mommy or cruising with daddy, Micah was enjoying the sights and sounds. When the "show" would start and the lights would start flashing, flipping and turning that is all he wanted to see. He was glued and mesmerized with all he was experiencing.

We were very impressed with how well he did. If we did this day, with either of our other girls at his age, they would not of made it 45 minutes. Micah did extemely well the entire time. As we headed home it was cute to hear Micah talking from the back seat. He had been relatively quiet at the party. Now that there was little competiion he was ready to chat.

Micah rounded out his day with some floor time. As he hung out kicking and stretching his sister enjoyed tickling his tummy and daddy found a new tickle spot on the top of his head. Once his head hit the pillow he was out like a light, not a peep of any sort.

He is such a joy and blessing to have as a part of our family. His personality is so addictive. He can tie anyone around his finger in a matter of seconds. I can not imagine our lives without him.We are all enjoying him in so many ways.

Court Date

2010-05-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

Today we received our re-adopt court date! Yippie! Our date is Friday, May 14th. This is where Micah will officially become Micah Paul Coombs as well as a US citizen! This will also allow him to have a US birth certificate. This is a big day. We are so excited it has come so fast!

Tomorrow we also have a very important meeting about Micah's Physical therapy and Occupational therapy. Pray it goes well and I have clarity of thought to get all my questions answered and also that Micah gets what he needs.

Happy 1st Birthday Micah!

2010-05-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

All the days ordained for me (Micah) were written

in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16b

We are so proud of all you have accomplished in this first year of life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

"With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

We are so incredibly in love with you!

It's an honor to be your forever family.

(Birthday pictures will come soon)

Much to be Thankful for...

2010-04-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

The last 9 months our lives have litereally been a whirlwind. I'm still waiting to land. It has been very interesting to watch God move in our lives and Micah's adoption. We have been learning to cling to the Lord in ways we never imagined and watch our world be rocked in every way.
As I look back it is abundantly clear how the Lord has directed our every step and given us what we need for the moment. Our job has been to be obedient and continue to move forward at whatever pace He lays before us.

The last few weeks have sure had there challenges regarding Micah's health.

As I look at them and how hard it has been I can see why the Lord moved us through the process so fast we could not fully research all the aspects of Micah's issues. Issues we could only speculate and guess about until he was home anyway. There would of been many opportunities for fear and doubt to creep in, which could of completely destroyed this awesome plan, our destiny, to be Micah's forever family.

It is abundantly clear that our job will continue to be obedient and rely on the Lord for what we need in the moment, day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute.

Micah is doing better. Today was a good day for him. Our happy baby is coming back more and more each day. There are still GI issues to be resolved but we are making progress. As we assessed and peeled away issues we also discovered he has a bit of a cold/allergies that are causing some sinus drainage/congestion. It's hard to tell if he is congested because he always sounds congested due to his underdeveloped airway. We've had two decent nights of sleep and are feeling a bit more human. Praise the Lord!

We have also been trying to figure out how to get a break, some respite, from the intensity of Micah's care. We are thankful for a couple of very trusted families who have offered to learn how to care for Micah. This will still take time before we will be able to go on a date, but it's progress. Half the battle, the hardest half, is finding someone you trust. Now it's building trust between Micah and them and teaching them the in's and out's of how the g-tube works.

I'd also like to give an update on the Crazy Love Party we took part in, you can read more here and here. We are humbled and so very thankful for those of you who have sent us some Crazy Love. We greatly appreciate you all and the part you are playing in Micah's story. There's also a Crazy Love Challenge #2 that you can find here. This is an opportunity to pray for other people's needs and send another kind of Crazy Love. When this challenge was posted we were in the thick of medical issues and needed all the prayer we could get. We posted ours list here and believed it could only get better. Now that we are coming up for air I am looking forward to reading more of these requests and praying for these needs of fellow bloggy friends. There is always room for more prayer and I encourage you to also check out these needs and add a few to your prayer list as well.

We are so thankful that God grabbed our lives as we knew them and shook them up to fit His perfect plan...a plan we never expected and could not imagine living without.

Update on the latest

2010-04-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the most ~~traumatic~~ difficult couple of weeks yet. The ENT and Neurology appointments were good but not for the issues we are having right now. We are working with the GI clinic to get Micah's system moving again. He is still in alot of pain. He is also having coughing spells that lead to choking on his saliva and then to gagging and dry heaving and being unable to breath. I did this with him every 20 minutes for 4 hours last night. We are a mess at this point. I have calls into GI at this moment and hopefully they can help us. Micah is also having the panic episodes still. It's been quite scary and makes it hard for any of us to sleep. Right as I am falling asleep he wakes with a coughing spell and needs immediate attention. He's keeping me on edge that's for sure. I am praying and believing we will get some answers today. I need some rest. I am exhausted. We all need peace.

I want to thank everyone who is praying and offering support to us as we are working through this.

Micah's feeding and medication issues

2010-04-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

This last few weeks have been a bit of a challenge with Micah's feeding and medications. One factor has been that the meds that were set up when we left the hospital expired before we saw the doctors who would manage them. We thought that a couple of the meds were dropping off only to learn the hard way that he definitely needs them and will need them for some time. We have seen alot of dry heaving and irregular GI symptoms. At our GI appointment the meds were fixed and they also wanted to add one med and change his food to be higher calorie and to something more appropriate for his age. This has been a ~~nightmare~~ challenge. Basically I am going to be calling the GI department first thing in the morning to talk through the last few days and make some changes. Something has to change. No baby should suffer the way Micah is at this time. As I was/am typing this he woke up screaming in pain.

This weekend he has developed what looks like panic attacks where his entire body startles and flails. This has been very difficult to watch him go through. We are holding him ALOT and working to keep him calm to prevent any dry heaving. When his stomach is full of food or gas he can not burp or spit up so he dry heaves. Unexpected/Untended to dry heaving can create a whole other issue, such as ripping out his surgery. To reduce the dry heaving possibilities we lowered the food he gets per hour and he is now on his food continuously for 20 hours a day instead of 17. Overall, it's very concerning and scary. We are always on alert. We feel helpless at times and it's a horrible feeling.

Another factor that complicates things right now is figuring out which doctor to go to for what. While in the hospital we were seen by several different departments. All of these departments have specialties, obviously, and all have follow-up appointments. We have Neurology this week and ENT next week. Until then Micah is not really set up in these offices outside of our hospital stay. So the challenge is who to go to for what. I can go to my primary pediatrician but he probably does not have all the info he needs to fully help him. The people who can help him still need to see him for the follow up appointments before they can do much. I'm praying to get into these doctors early this week.

Please pray:
-That I find the right doctor who can do something Monday.
-For an ENT appointment to be scheduled this week.
-For our Neurology appointment on Tuesday at 10:30 am.
-For his GI track to regulate.
-For us to find a food he will tolerate.
-For an agency or insurance to pay for the food he tolerates.
-For his meds to be effective and appropriate for his situation.
-For me to not just "get through" Randy's work week, Monday-Thursday, and instead have a great week.
-For rest and peace for all of us.
-For all the other stuff we are praying about....too much to list.

Thanks so much!

Update:
-Working with GI over the phone and making progress.
-ENT appointments at 11am today.
-Surgery follow-up next Tuesday.
-Neurology tomorrow.

Making progress

2010-04-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

We are still here....I know it's been a few weeks since there's been any real updates. These last few weeks have been full of adjustment and appointments. Micah is doing well overall. We are pressing on towards adjustment. We have been tremendously blessed in many ways. We are also very exhausted and are in bed right after Micah. It's been challenging to accomplish the basics. Today's HUGE success was Micah started sucking his thumb! This is amazing considering how tight his hands can be. I'm so proud of him!

I will be posting more soon.....I hope...

Crazy Love Party for Adoption

2010-03-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have followed several adoption blogs and love seeing how God is working in families lives through adoption. It is inspiring and encouraging to read of the journeys of families to bring their children home. One of these blogs is by a family has grown through adoption to now have 10 children. You can read their blog http://www.aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/

The mother, Linny, posted a entry called "Crazy Love." She is hosting a Crazy Love Party. This involves families with a need posting them and then people with the means to meet a need can choose to do so. She believes like we do that we have a God that is a Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God.

Yesterday, I went out the get the mail and as I was opening it there was a bill. A bill that we do not currently have the funds for. I had recently read a post from this same family about how God always provides so as I remembered that, I prayed, surrendered the need to the Lord and moved on with my day. A little later in the day I was checking e-mail as well as a few blogs. As I arrived at "A Place Called Simplicity" and read about the Crazy Love Party she is hosting in the bloggy world. After praying and talking it over, our family has choses to participate.

The last 7-1/2 months of our lives have been intense to say the least. On August 11, 2009 God began our adoption journey and little did we know the ride we were in for. God clearly paved the way in a way only He could. Our son, from Ethiopia, has many special needs, some we were aware of and some were surprises once we got home. Yes, we are home! Like I said the way was paved and there was no speed limit. We met Micah on December 28, 2009, 4-1/2 months after the very first informational meeting we attended. As most of you know, in the adoption world this is clearly an act of God. Our son needed immediate medical attention, his life depended on it. One very unusual blessing is that our international agency saw how God had laid out the details, saw the urgency for Micah and they allowed us to complete our adoption without having all the funds raised and chose to believe with us. Micah is now thriving and working his way to health. He is a joy and we are blessed beyond measure to be his family. You can read our entire story of God's fingerprints on our blog.

So here are the Crazy Love Party details regarding our family.

Does our family tithe?....Absolutely with every paycheck

What church do we attend?...The Bridge in Fresno, California

Are we involved at church?....Yes, my husband is a Co-Leader of the Stephen Ministries program. This is a significant weekly committment. I've taken a break to focus on our family for this season.

What is our need?...We have one bill that needs to be paid to our local agency. We also have a larger amount that needs to be repaid. God allowed this larger amount to be borrowed to get the process started and it now needs to be repaid as well. Any gifts will go towards these bills.

Did we fundraise for our adoption?...Yes, we did a yard sale, a Christmas Boutique, letters and applied for several grants as well. We did all we could in the few months we had.

Contact info: coombshouse@sbcglobal.net

Thank you so much for taking the time to share in our story.

The Coombs Family

Flying by the seat of our pants

2010-03-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

We have been home for 5 days. Non-stop…survival…flying by the seat of our pants…are all good descriptions. My best description is we are in “Catch up/Keep Up” mode. It’s an adjustment to jump back into the regular schedule of things after being in hospital life for over 2 weeks. The girls needed extra attention, the kids all needed to get reacquainted, then there’s the house. We are still recovering from the construction. The first 3 days were full of appointments for Micah, setting up home health, trying to get his expensive formula covered by one of the programs he qualifies for, and seeing his primary pediatrician and for our home, needing a new water heater and water main. Then there’s the process of learning how the G-tube fits into life and the care that goes with that. What was that beep and how do we fix it? Watch out for that cord…don’t let it get pulled! Don’t forget to clean his surgery site three times a day. What schedule to we want the meds on and what works for the ones that are every 8 hours? Oh, and speaking of meds. Now that we are several day away from this incident it’s easier to laugh at it.

We got home on Tuesday around noon. Micah was due for his next dose of valium at 3:30pm. This was the first med that needed to be given since being home. So at 3:30pm Micah received his valium. We then went to look at the other meds, the doses and the syringes. We then realized that we were not given adequate syringes to administer the other medications….OR the valium we had just given him. GREAT! Randy called the necessary medical personnel and, yes indeed, Randy and Micah were heading back to the ER at Valley Childrens for observation. Our 3-1/2 hour “visit” home was over. I honestly did not have words for this situation. I could not call anyone. I almost could not think about it. All I could do was stay calm and make the evening the best possible for the girls. Once Randy and Micah were out at VCH they hooked him up to monitors and watched him. He was going to have to be observed for 6 hours from ingestion based on his age and weight.

The first 2 hours Micah was very happy and relaxed. He was talking to Randy’s pants, laughing and having a good time. The nurses thought he was hilarious. The valium had relaxed him so he could move his arms in ways he normally cannot due to the CP so he was looking at his arms in amazement. The expressions on his face were priceless. He was indeed having a good time. The next couple of hours he took a peaceful nap. During this time all his vitals began to return to normal and now they had to just wait it out. At this point Randy was ready for some of his own valium, Airborne, mask and anything else that would protect him from the surrounding germs. They were in the middle of the ER during the peak of RSV season. All he could hear around him was coughing, breathing treatments, and diagnosis being given of pneumonia and RSV. At one point he heard someone was there for a dog bite and he was ready to ask if he could be moved next to the dog bite injury. The last thing we need is for Micah to get RSV or for any germs to be brought back to our house from the hospital. So while Randy and Micah were waiting I was home praying for health. About 7 hours from the time they arrived they were released with a stamp of “good to go”. The doctors said that since Micah is so stiff that he probably just absorbed the extra medication and it did not really phase him. I was relieved that our family would all be under one roof for the night. We are expecting this to be the last overdose he ever receives. It’s happened to everyone in our family before so now we can check this off the list of life experiences and move on. Oh, and yes, we have been given several of the correct size syringes. We are all good to go.

We have a wonderful friend who has offered to set up meals for us as we are adjusting to the various changes, learning the new equipment and Randy returning to work. If you would be interested you can contact her at nates5bs@gmail.com .

Transitioning-March 2nd

2010-03-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

Here we go…the day we have been waiting for…discharge day! We are sooo ready to be home as a family. The hospital room has been tidied up, personal belongings prepped to go home. There are many changes ahead in the coming days and we are ready for them regardless of how simple or hard some may be. As we leave the hospital we will be leaving our constant connection to Facebook, cable and other media behind. Of course we will still enjoy our media but we won’t need it as a way to survive hospital life. Micah will have to transition from cushy Swaddler diapers to the reality of Target diapers again. This is not a habit we are able to continue. As for the bigger changes, our family will finally be reunited after 15 days of split parenting. We will all get reacquainted as a family of 5 again. This time Micah will be different…probably more enjoyable for the girls to be around. His needs will also be different and will take adjusting to for everyone. We will also be welcoming home a new category of household items. All of Micah’s medical gear and appointments with the Home Health nurse as well. We will need to get organized…Ha!...we will need to push stuff out of the way and make a “home” for the variety of tubing, supplies and medicines. I love to be organized but it’s difficult for me to actually get organized to begin with. Maybe God will have mercy on me and allow me to have the time and focus necessary to do such a thing. I am anticipating the most difficult transition for me will be the reality that Randy has to work. He has not had to work a full work week since December 23rd. He will be home this next week as we transition but it will still be hard when reality hits. I have grown accustom to having my best friend, team mate, confidant close by for over 2 months. We have problem solved and worked through so much, there’s no easy way to wean that kind of involvement. Next Monday, I will pull up the boot straps, jump in, pray for grace and hope to get meals on the table at appropriate times. We have been so blessed that Randy has been able to take so much time off. God has been so faithful through the ups and downs.

I am excited to share all the details of life as a family…meals together, Wii playing, book reading, crafting, cooking, baking, homework, wrestling, singing, pretending, picking up, dropping off, chores, kisses and hugs all surrounded by lots of love.

Here we go…

Our Final days-March 1-2

2010-03-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

I can not express how thankful we are for all of the prayers! This last 36 hours has been quite difficult. The short story is we have had consistent care for the last 10 day with the same doctor. We were wondering at what point she my have a day off….that day is today. When she left we had meds set at what we are going home with, the plan for feeding was set. We were only in the hospital to test a formula and tweek the feeding to see what happens. So when with this eminent day off came a new doctor, new resident, new ideas it also brought a HUGE amount of advocating. We were so close to getting out and it felt like we were starting over. These new people came in and tried to change everything we had worked for 10 days to fine tune. Messing with us now could easily mean added days to our stay. It’s a good thing I am married to a steady man. I was irritated beyond belief and we both knew it was best for me to not be at the hospital those final hours. Randy knew my concerns and issues along with his own. I remained home and began to prep for bring Micah home while he began the advocating. He advocated and helped the new crew understand exactly why we were still in the hospital, what the plan is to home on and when we expect to leave. We were then release 4-6 hours earlier than we had expected.

On a more positive side of things, in many ways it feels like we have come full circle since being admitted to the hospital. We are getting a chance for the nurses and doctors to see God’s goodness through this hospitalization. Over the last couple of days we have had the chance to see the hospital staff who welcomed us the first night and worked with us that first treacherous week. Now they come by and see a completely different baby. First they notice his true personality, then they comment on how big he looks. They remember the difficulties they experienced with him and helped him through and then I see the satisfaction in their eyes. I have thanked them for the excellent care they have provided and for being part of his story, from sickness to thriving and sadness to joy. God has orchestrated the perfect care for Micah, better than any human could do. We’ve shared the story of God’s goodness in saving Micah and connecting us together. We hope our family has been a blessing to them along the way as well.

Decompressing

2010-03-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

PRAISE GOD!

WE ARE HOME!

We are home and doing well. Home Health is all set up and Micah is sleeping. So far he has tolerated the new formula. Now we are decompressing and enjoying being reunited as a family for the first time in over 2 weeks. I'll write about the last 36 hours when I have a bit more time. Thank you all for praying! The prayers were felt in so many ways.

Pray for the formula!

2010-03-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

We just learned that the formula that has worked for Micah will not be covered by the powers that be. The formula is very expensive, 6 cans for $196. We need to find a formula that he can tolerate that will be covered. The issue is when we change the doctor may not let us come home tomorrow.

WE MUST COME HOME
TOMORROW!

We can not sit in the hospital to just eat formula. It's cheaper for the same powers that be to pay for the formula vs. more days in the hospital.

PLEASE PRAY!

Update: We are trying a new formula for the next 24 hours. Pray he tolerates it! As long as he does then we will be able to come home tomorow evening. We desperately need to get home. This life style is wearing on us all.

Making Progress

2010-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

Micah has been doing well. Over the last two days we have worked him up to the feeding level he needs to be at. He's been at this level for 24 hours. Not only have we done this but it's happened without any complications. His body has been able to keep up with the volume and we have not seen any wretching (dry heaving). We are so thankful this progress has been uneventful. Our next plan is to try him off the feeds for 4 hours and on for 20 hours. While he is off the feeds we will feed him by bottle to keep up his skills. Hopefully as time goes we will be able to have him off for 12 hours during the day. Basically, we will have X amount of calories we need to get in him in a day. Whenever we do that is based on his tolerance for the volume needed and balanced with the time he is off the tube feeding.

We have also learned how to vent or burp him through his tube. At first it's weird and kind of gross but really how much easier than waiting for gas to pass. I know there have been countless times with our girls it would of been nice to just "vent" them to eliminate that factor as to why they were fussing and screaming. We have a lot to learn, absorb and apply about the g-tube in a short period of time. As I've said that I'm looking forward to our new normal whatever that may be...this is the first definite new normal item. We can count on always having the g-tube as a part of our lives. There is a chance he will someday be able to eat on his own, we are just a long way from there at this moment.

In the last couple of days several of the minor annoyances have been eliminated as well. A couple of nights ago Micah's sixth IV got kinked and went bad. A nurse worked very hard to save it and then it fell apart. Little did we know this would work in our favor. For Micah to have the IV with nothing going in it continuously they have to flush it every 4 hours to keep it open. This is how we knew it went bad, it would not flush. When the IV would flush it was very uncomfortable for Micah. At this point the only reason he had it was to give him his morphine. So we discussed our options and decided to stop the morphine, keep up on the Tylenol and have his Valium changed to a form that can go though the tube. Once this was in place we were all good. God's perfect timing is also in the IV's going bad. Awesome!

I'm also very excited that the doctor wrote orders for his vitals to be checked by 10pm and then not again until morning! This means there is no reason for him to get woken up in the middle of the night. This also translates into us not getting disturbed as well. What a difference a good nights rest makes.

The best thing of all is that we are getting our happy boy back and he's even happier than before. He is so hilarious! If you have met him you have probably seen his cute smile, his bright eyes and heard his belly laughs and giggles. He has come through this hospitalization even better in so many ways. He loves to play and interact. He's also shown great interest in music. When we have a CD going he will listen closely and sometimes he will start babbling with it as well. It warms my heart to see him thriving. It's amazing what a full tummy can do along with a good nights restand of course great medical care.

We are scheduled to go home early Tuesday morning. We have a 10am appointment with Home Health Care to get his gear set up. Your continued prayers are coveted as we are in the home stretch of our stay here and as we transition home.

Let's get off the "snack plan"

2010-02-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

Now that we are post op our goals have shifted and we are working....pushing to do whatever it takes to get out of the hospital. Micah has been doing well overall. He has been resting for good amounts of time and he has been more content while awake. There are still periods of pain and those are being managed as best as possible. We are hoping he can replace more of his mophine and valium with tylenol soon. He has been a real trouper. Tonight he was taken off the Oxygen monitor and the IV food so that is three pumps total. Now he only has one pump and it's the same one he will be coming home with. I think this is going to make a huge difference in the quality of rest he can get. Being on four pumps all doing something different for different amounts of time and with a different alarms can be taxing for all of us. I'm believing for a peaceful night tonight.

Our current focus is his feeding. The length of our stay is completely based on how he tolerates his food. The formula he is on comes straight from a pharmaceutical company, it is as basic as it comes and is basically digested for him. His body is not having to work very hard to digest it. Complications with food tolerance will probably be based on the volume he can handle. He is on a continuous pump of formula 24 hours a day. For most of today we have been asking whoever is assigned to us about increasing his feeds. Micah was on less than half of what his goal is. Several of the doctors and the dietician all were saying "Ya, let's increase his feeds" but no one was actually writing any orders to change anything. We were seeing this pattern and when Randy talked to the next doctor he said,"Let's get off the snack plan. He can handle it, let's get going." The primary hospitalist doctor then wrote the orders and we began to make progress. As of this moment he is tolerating almost half of what the goal is along with 1 oz. bottles that we can give him at our discretion. They are increasing the feeds slowly every three hours to see how he does. We are also watching to make sure he does not begin to dry heave. This is a sign that he is not tolerating the volume of food. Since he has had a fundoplication surgery this does not allow Micah to spit up or throw up. Dry heaving can also result in damaging the surgery sights and even pulling out the fundoplication surgery. So far so good. Now we believe, pray and wait it out.

As we spoke with the doctor, we learned they are hoping to send us home Monday or Tuesday. This news was a little discouraging. We are all very tired of the hospital routine. We miss being together as a family unit. The every other night at the hospital is wearing on Randy and I. The hospital food is lacking and take-out is tiring...both are expensive. We miss cooked vegetables. The girls are well taken care of by Mama, Papa and Aunties but are still missing our routines. We are all craving our new normal whatever that is going to look like. Now we have to believe that God's timing is perfect in all of this. We've seen the blessing of having Micah in a safe stable place during the constrution, next is the water heater I guess, yes...the water heater is going out. Monday morning we have a company coming out to see what's going on. Thank goodness for a home warranty. So, we are continuing to remind ourselves of God's faithfulness when we begin to get weary.

Here are some things we are thankful for:
-A Children's Hospital so close to home.
-Incredible hospital staff who have been wonderful to us.
-Family and friends to help during this time with a variety of things.
-Randy being able to take this time off.
-Ice Tea, Chocolate, Chik-fil-A, In-n-Out
-Wireless Internet and a laptop my brother recently "frankensteined" together for us.
-Sound proofing upgrade to our home.
-Pain medications
-"Almost's" because that means something bad did not actually happen. Such as Micah "almost" pulled out his IV (a few days ago).
-A Home Warranty to fix our water heater.
-Facebook and blogging
-The Olympics and Cable
-Crocheting, Knitting and Knifty Knitting
-Most of all the prayers that span the globe for Micah and our family.

First Day-Post Op

2010-02-25T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last night Micah did as well as he probably could of. Babies are a mystery to begin with and Micah has a few more factors that contribute to the mystery. Most of the fussing he is doing subsides easily with some reassurace. There are the times he is clearly in pain as well. The nurses have been very good about working to keep him comfortable. He is on a regular dose of pain meds that are working pretty well. It also appears that he is having pain from gas in his stomach from surgery and the fussing he has done.

There's also the basic fact that Micah does not like to be messed with. If he wants to sleep then he does not want to be disturbed. Obviously he is adapting to hospital life. Once the doctors and nurses stop touching him he usually calms down goes to sleep. As for all the noises of a hospital.That's another story. The doctor agreed ~~that purple chickens can sing~~ (Thank you Honey...gee I can't even go to the bathroom) to hook him up to the heart monitor sensors but to not plug them in unless he needs monitoring. The heart monitor constantly makes noise that would startle him over and over. So far so good. His oxygen levels have been fine so no need for the heart monitor. This leaves us with only 3 pumps that are fairly predictable as to when they will go off and we have learned how to silence them. Last night, was also the loudest night I have heard in the hospital. They admitted 9 new kids, which means 9 new IV placements and 9 new blood draws and many sets of vitals, etc. We heard A LOT of crying, yelling and screaming. Micah chimed in on occasion and I prayed A LOT for those traumatized kids and their adults.

Today has been much more calm. Micah is resting better. He has tolerated the Pedialyte so they will begin his formula soon. I'm sure he will feel better having some food in his tummy. We are hanging out waiting to learn whatever we need to and praying we will get out of here by Sunday if not earlier.

As new info comes or things change we will update you.