Emma is 2 1/2 months old!!! Gone by so fast!

It has been so long since I have posted anything! Hmmm...new things in our life? Well, Emma is growing so fast. We went to her 2 month appointment at Dr. Landry's for her first set of shots. She screamed so hard they had to slap her back so she would take a breath in. Broke my heart in a million pieces....and of course, her Daddy was working and got to skip the event. After it was over, she did great and they seemed to not bother her at all. They weren't very impressed with her weight of 8 lb 8 oz at 8 weeks so they told me to start adding calories to every feeding. We have been doing that and boy, has she gained! We went in today and she was up to 9 lb 8 oz. One pound in less than 2 weeks. Not bad! We went to the doctor because even though her pooping situation has improved to 1 diaper every 2 days, her reflux has gotten increasingly worse. She has started projectile vomitting after her feedings and only eating 1-2 ounces every 3-4 hours. I was impressed and couldn't stand to watch her cry and throw up any longer. The doctor got us in this morning and they have changed her medication to 2 new meds and also have scheduled her for an appt with a GI specialist at a later date! I just want her to feel better and I will do anything to get that! I'll keep you posted on how she does. Besides the health issues?? Emma is smiling a lot now and makes me that happiest person in the world when she smiles at us. She is still in newborn clothes even though some are getting a little tight. She is sleeping about 6-7 hours at night and then goes right back to sleep after a bottle for another 3 hours. She loves to lay on a pallet in the floor and watch football on TV and talk to the TV....so cute. She hates the hiccups, which happen frequently. She is most definitely a daddy's girl and it melts my heart to see them together. Our lives have been so blessed by this little girl...we just had no idea how much happiness she would bring to us!

Mark is enjoying the fire department and got his first real fire on Saturday, which was only a pile of carpet set on fire and a couple dumpsters on fire. Not anything huge but a fireman will take any fire, any day, over a medical call! It's in their blood! Mark got sick with "flu-ish" symptoms for a few days but is better now.

I have gone back to work full time now and even though I hate leaving her, I know she is being taken care of. Her daddy is home with her most of the time but 7 days a month, she goes to either our friend, Tiffani's or our friend, Karen's. They both live close by and she has done great at both! Work is good for me but hectic at times. As admission coordinator I get all of the admissions so I get my hands-on patient care as well as lots of office time. It's a good medium for me.

Mark's Gran is in the hospital right now and is still waiting to find out why her Sodium is so low. We are praying hard for her to get better and gain some strength back. We need to go see her so soon! She hasn't even been able to meet our sweet Emma yet.

Off to bed...I think I've highlighted to major things. No, actually, I'm sure I've missed something but I'll add it later.

I'm posting pics from recently. The naked ones are from the doctor today and the most recent. Look at that double chin!

Incredible people

Today I have had several things that have truly amazed me and touched my heart. Since I'm laying in the recliner sick with aches, fever, and swine flu, I've been able to catch up on my shows that I DVR. There has gotten to be alot saved on there because of us not having the time to watch as many as we record.

I started out with all my Oprah's. I don't watch them all but I record them and then go through and watch the ones that sound interesting or appealling to me. I watched them all in time to watch today's show. WOW! Anyone else watch these incredible stories? My heart was truly touched by these families who have overcome GREAT obstacles. From taking in your parents 9 severely disabled children after your parents were gunned down and killed, to nearly dying in a plane crash and almost burning to death but surviving, to sitting in the wrong seat on the plane and the man next to you adopting you a few months later. I watched and listened to all of their stories and it makes me want to be a better person. I am put in situations every day, some that I don't even realize, where I could help people. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself about having to work or being in a lease that prevents us from buying a house for a few more months or not having enough money to do it all or not having enough time to get everything done that I need to do or not getting as much sleep as I would like to get some nights. AND THEN I HAVE A DAY LIKE TODAY.

I look at the 27 year old girl and her husband of 2 years on Oprah, whose parents home was broken into and they were shot multiple times and killed in front of their adopted children. She and her husband step up to the challenge and raise all 9 of these children, some with down syndrome, some with autism, ADHD, behavioral problems, etc. There are medications that are liquids, patches, capsules to open over food and eat. A 4 year old with a feeding tube that needs to be fed every 3 hours around the clock through it. Her parents will was void due to it not being witnessed correctly, there was no life insurance policies, they recieved $1100 in donations after the incident. They both work full time outside the home but have 2 mortgages, 2 utility bills, etc because they can't sell the home they were living in prior to this happening. They said the electricity bill for the house they are living in with the children, which is her parents home, was $1285 last month! That is more than a lot of my friends mortgages.

I listened to the story of the husband and wife of 9 years, with 4 children, who were on a small plane that crashed and exploded. He had a broken back and 30% of his body was burned. He helped save his wifes life by getting her out of the plane...with a broken back. She had over 80% of her body burned and laid 3 months in a coma and a year later, looks completely different. She said she had a vision and there was someone there with her that told her she could continue to live but it would be a hard life, or she could transition and move on. She chose the hard way and said it was the easiest choice of her life because she had a husband and 4 children waiting for her to get better. With her face so scarred that it doesn't look like the same person, her husband looks at her with so much love and pride. He is so happy to have her here with him. Her children beg her to pick them up, which she can't do because of her skin still healing. It takes her 2 hours to take a shower and do all of the painful scrubing, applying ointments, etc that she has to do every single day. It takes her 3 times as long to prepare her kids lunch trying to open ziploc bags and cut up apples. And yet, she does it with a smile and in the most loving manner imaginable.

And then the 15 year old girl who was on her way to a shelter for foster kids in Tennessee where she was going to live after bouncing from one foster home to the next. She sat in the wrong seat on the plane next to a chatter box and at a time when she didn't want to talk to anyone. He asked her what she was doing and she told him. He said, "What would you like to happen?" She said, "I'd like a family someday." He went home, told his wife, and began searching for her with only her first name. He found her and year later, after being emptynesters, they adopted her as their own. She got her family from sitting in the wrong seat on the plane.

After I watched the show and cried the whole time through, I decided I'd better go get my medicine from the pharmacy that they owed me from yesterday. I sat in the drive thru for about 10 minutes, which seemed like an eternity. In my head, I was saying "Don't they know people are sick and don't want to be waiting. Really? How could it take this long?", etc. I got to the window, they sent my prescription out and I said, "What do I owe for it?" They said, "No ma'am. The lady in front of you said to keep her credit card number on file and to pay for the person's behind her prescription no matter the cost." I couldn't believe it. It must have been her random act of kindness for the day and what a nice one for me!

So today I commit to being a better person. I often have heard people comment "There just aren't any good people out there anymore!" What a false statement. There are incredible people all over the place. Seek them out, pay attention, surround yourself with them, be one of them!