Life

We had Hosea's birthday party today. He wasn't born until the 28th, but no one is usually available to party then, so we had it early this year, and probably will every subsequent year. It was truly a sweet time of fellowship, we had a couple of families from our church over. It was very laid back, informal and enjoyable for all, we are so thankful for our little man! We are so blessed to have such sweet friends. Thanks for coming to celebrate!

Monday we will head out to Missouri to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, the 22nd-30th. I'm very excited to see my family and meet my new niece and nephew!

My next update will probably be after Aggies PT appt. on Dec. 2nd.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Doctor Office

We spend a lot of time there....

We went back there today. Good news, Aggie gained 1 lb. in 2 weeks! This was very exciting after her regression last month, of no weight gain. I was right about the feeding thing, and we are back on track now.

The doctor is still concerned about her motor development. I'm starting to be concerned also, which I know is sinful worry, please pray for me in this area. I do desire to please the Lord with my thoughts. I continue to cast my cares upon Him in prayer. I'm so thankful He hears. She is significantly behind. She has a physical therapy evaluation in Dec., the 2nd I think? That should give us some clear direction. If she does poorly there she will see a neurologist for further testing to figure out the cause of her delays.

We received a "This is not a bill" statement in the mail Saturday from her last hearing test. It was informing us of the cost of her testing and that our insurance covered it, praise the Lord! Her last hearing test was $918! That's not to mention the 5 tests she had prior to that. In addition to that we have been to the Doctor for one thing or another at a minimum of twice a month, we already have 4 appointments on the calendar for December, and we haven't even scheduled her next hearing thing. I struggle with growing weary of spending so much time there really. But getting that "not bill" has made me so thankful that we have all the resources available to us for her care for free! That's right free! We are so blessed, so many people suffer b/c they can not see a doctor or have access to medicine or treatment, and here we are becoming "regulars" at the doctor's office. Obviously this is what the Lord has for me in this season of life, I should rejoice and be glad in it!

Oatmeal is a love/hate relationship.

I love oatmeal for it's healthful benefits, and that my kids enjoy it.
I hate it's ability to plaster it's self to my dinning room table and chairs.

Marine Corp Ball

It was so nice to have a date with my hubby, which is my favorite part of this annual formal event. A couple from our church watched the kids. I felt much more comfortable leaving them with two adults instead of one b/c our princess Aggie really needs her own attendant. She's so young and little and strongly opinionated. It all went well and the food was the best I've had yet.

If you are wondering why Hosea is mostly naked in all his pictures, it's b/c we are still potty training and he is way more successful with out cloths on for some reason? It's a process.

I love the backyard!

I truly enjoy our back yard. It provides us with much fun and relaxation, and has become a very popular spot for the kids to play freely.

We had the pleasure of hosting a costume party at our home this year. It was all because we were going to miss our dear friends, the Steel's, that we had grown accustom to attending, and decided instead of moping, we would host one and just use all their good ideas. Here is a great shot from the sack races.

The kids love playing in the rain.

He "didn't want to get wet". He cracks me up.

They take turns pushing each other in that thing.

And who could resist the hammock?
Note: I'm not sure if you remember that Mike wanted this beauty hanging in our home, but look where it ended up! I'm very pleased, and it was from no work of my own, but rather the simple fact that it would not fit where he wanted it. I'm so sad. (sarcasm)

The beginning of long adventure.

Aggie Rae had another ear check-up today. It was quite long, as the hearing testing takes a bit of time, and requires a still baby. The Lord was kind and Aggie was more cooperative than I would have imagined possible. They mentioned at her last appointment that "it is best if she sleeps during testing", hint hint. Since she is not on a schedule that I can manipulate, or predictable in any way, I just started praying then. The Lord was so gracious! She slept for nearly 1.5 hours in my arms. It was really amazing b/c the whole time she had a clip attached to each ear lobe,( it was tight too b/c there are still marks), she also had probes in each ear, and a metal probed taped to her forehead, and is was making loud noises in her ears. To top it all she is really out of the sleepy newborn phase, she is 4 months now and has a much more significant amount of awake time. I'm just saying all this b/c it really is amazing that she slept so long and so well in these circumstances! The unfortunate thing of it all is that, she really needed to sleep about 30 min. longer. :( So her left ear tested "inconclusive" which is important b/c her right ear has "significant hearing loss" we learned after her testing today. So now we need to learn how much or little the left ear is working to know what kind of correction she might need. We are being referred again. I'm not certain at this point the steps that will be taken, we may need to see an ENT first, but our final destination is likely The University of Florida speech and hearing clinic in Gainesville, about 6 hours from here. They deal with these things often and will be best suited to diagnose and treat our little baby doll. The part I'm unsure about is who we see next. There may be some steps we need to take with our insurance before we get to our final destination. I will be calling the clinic nurse tomorrow to start figuring out what needs to happen next. She has another well-check in two weeks for her low weight, so worse case scenario I will discuss it with her Dr. then who is the one who will be doing the referring.

4 month Well report

Well Aggie had her 4 month well check today. Honestly it was a little disappointing. I do believe God is Sovereign, so I'm holding fast to that. But the sweet little girl weights the exact same as she did last month, sigh. 9 lb. 14oz. Though the Dr. didn't think panic was necessary, and I agree, she did want to take steps to make up for it. The good news is she is now old enough to start cereal, which I wouldn't ordinarily do yet, but given the circumstances we'll give it a go. Also she wants her to eat every 2 hours again. I hold no promises there, I'm not sure that our life would allow for it, but I will of course do my best to get her as many calories as possible. Also 2 months ago the Dr. had me switch how we nurse, doing only one side per feeding, but since then her weight gain has been less, only 1 lb the first month and now this. I didn't think to ask the Dr. at her appt. about this b/c I was distracted by Hosea peeing his pants, but I think I'm going back to doing both sides, since she was gaining above average, 2pounds per month on that. She also isn't lifting her head as well or high as they would prefer, so we are headed to physical therapy for that. That should be interesting? So not the best news a mom wants to hear, but let me assure you that Aggie looks healthy and sweet to me, just a little smallish, which is super cute and helps to capitalize on her winter wardrobe. She is responding to sounds and starting to baby babble and baby converse with us, i am so enjoying her and watching her react to her environment. What a ray of sunshine she is.