Round and round we go.

The darling littlest Schloss had an appointment today with an "ear nose and throat" Dr. The original purpose of this appointment was to obtain a referral to a university hospital so her ears could be further tested. It turns out that the children's hospital in Pensacola is now doing the testing also. This will save us a 6 hr. car ride. From what I understand the testing process will be safer here also, since the Dr. is required to be present for the entire 2 hour test done by the audiologist, where at the University that is not the case. The reason it would be safer is b/c Aggie will have to be sedated for the testing to be accurate, there can't be any movement or noise, it would cause too much artifact on the readings. Apparently they can also fit her with hearing aids here if that is what is needed. All in all the appointment was a success.

I must be honest I am struggling a bit, it's really quite silly, well actually it's sinful worry, so silly is not the word. Here is why... upon entering the room the Dr. asked how old Aggie was? I replied she is 6 months, but before I could finish the months part, or perhaps i wasn't speaking loud enough, he piped up with "weeks", ugh. Little reality check. My now 11 lb 5 oz baby is deceivingly small. I of course replied " I know she is very small for her age, her Dr. is checking into it. I mentioned the handful of referrals we've already received." He, trying to be helpful suggest that she doesn't seem to have problems in the areas I mentioned and asks if she's seen an endocrinologist. I politely said I would mention it to her primary care provider. This gets the wheels in my head turing in no good direction, worry. On my drive home I am thinking of all the endocrine problems I know of, at the same time trying not to think of them, the battle of my mind. Lord forgive me! God is her creator, he sustains the universe in the palm of His hand, he is perfectly able to construct, sustain and fulfill the life of this precious little girl.

"Wonder Red"

Shiloh got some roller skates from her Mema and Papa for Christmas, and she loves them! This is the first time she took them out for a spin.

" The cone of shame"

If you aren't familiar with the movie "UP" that is where the quote is from. It has been my struggle to keep the "cone" off. This is all regarding Aggie. She had another weight check last week. I've been reluctant to share b/c I've been struggling with it myself, and hold to "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it", though I fail at that sometimes. It altogether isn't horrible news, but it isn't the best either. God has been so faithful to lavish His grace on me by reveling sin of worry, anger and pride in my heart. And He wants me to know that He is in control, not me. Which is a far better arrangement. I have had to "cast my cares upon Him" and find peace that "He cares for me". I surrender Aggie to His care, her creator, who knows her every need.

So Aggie had poor weight gain, she is now 11lbs., which means she gained 2oz. in 3 weeks. I am greatful for the gain. The Practitioner finally put her on the "premie" growth chart, instead of the normal one, which Aggie fell off of 2 months ago. She is 2% on the adjusted chart. I suppose the reason for my uneasiness on this topic is that Aggie's practitioner, tells me these things, and expresses her discontent with them, but has little help or advice in how to correct the problem. Aggie is still nursing and eating rice cereal mixed with formula. I've started giving the cereal twice a day, and just to see, i've been offering a bottle after I nurse her, but she really seems full, and doesn't take much at all.

The other topic of concern is that we recently noticed that Aggie's pupils are different sizes. I looked back in pictures and it has been this way at least since September. The good news is that both react to light equally. So we now have more referrals. She will see a Neurologist and have a Pediatric Developmental Evaluation. As it has been going, it takes about a month for the referral to go through and the appointment to be made, if it all gets put in "the system" correctly. And then once an appointment is made, it usually is about a month wait. So I'm not anticipating knowing much for awhile. This trade-mark of the system has been a very active part in my sanctification. It has reveled my impatience, lack of trust and worst of all unbelief.

I say all this so you know that my imperfect heart has failed time and time again to please my Lord as we learn of new news and potential problems Aggie may have. But the good news of it all is this, He waits with His arms open wide for His daughter to come back to Him. He has been holding me up, taking my steps in the midst of my frailty. The great news is........ God is pleased........He is pleased with His son Christ, whom I hide in. I thank Him soo for that!

Missouri and back again.

It was so nice to see my family for Thanksgiving! Our time was packed full of fun things.

We did some tree climbing.

My cousin Ashley invited us out to the farm to see the bottle calf eat. Shiloh really liked the chicken. Thanks Ashley!

We celebrated Christmas with family while we were home. The kids loved that!

I got to meet my new niece Taytum (on the left), my new nephew Kohen (middle), and Aggie enjoyed hanging out with them (right).

Here we are en-route.
Our travels were more eventful than one would hope for, but what do you expect with 3 little people. We flew, the kids were great on the way there. Our main event was an over-night stay in Atlanta, b/c of a flight delay. Thankfully it was a mechanical problem and we were compensated for our troubles.
On the way home, we learned an important lesson. The Schloss family only has 2 flights in them. As we were approaching Atlanta from Kansas City, we were informed that the Atlanta airport was closed b/c there was a storm over the air field. About 90 aircraft were diverted to out-laying fields to wait, we were one of those aircraft. So we hung out in Huntsville, AL. Thankfully it was only a couple hours and we were back in the air headed to Atlanta. We landed and our connection was delayed, so we had a few hours to burn there. Our final and 3rd flight of the day was short, but eventful. It was 8 or 9 o'clock ish, a long day. I was that person with the screaming baby, most of the flight. Shiloh had a potty accident in the seat. And Hosea, who has been doing pretty good with potty training, decided to fill his pull up with #2. The flight attendant suggested that maybe the baby filled her pants. She had gas, but hadn't bore any fruit from her labor. It wasn't until we got off and stopped at the bathroom to clean Shiloh up that we realized it was Hosea that was stinking the place up. If we had stopped at 2 flights we would have been good. :)

It's so nice to be home, I am catching up on sleep and chores. Hoping to decorate a tree soon!

Hosea is 3!

We celebrated Hosea's Birthday twice this year, I suppose that makes up for last years left over thanksgiving dessert with a candle in it. I realized that we need to celebrate his birthday early in the month if friends are going to be able to attend since it is so close to Thanksgiving.



This is his 2nd Party at Mema and Papa's house. It was a dual party with one of his cousins. With all his first cousins in attendance.

He enjoyed his Buzz cake!

This was the small celebration at our house. We had some friends from our church over. There was another boy in attendance, 2 actually, but I just realized they are not in the picture.

I made a "Kung Fu Panda" cake, since Hosea is a Kung Fu Warrior himself. He has a mean low round-house kick. We had fun celebrating our little man, we are thankful to the Lord for another year with our exuberant 3 year old.

Physical Therapy

Aggie had her PT evaluation this week. It went well. They checked all her range of motion, her muscle tone, and some coordination. She did well. She is a little behind her average age, but there were "no red flags" the therapist said. She will see her again in a month to see if she is progressing. The "head lag" that the Dr. expressed concern about, was not present, which was good news!