Humbled

I had a very humbling experience today. Landon had an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist. As some of you may know, when he was born he had a very small hole in the bottom of his heart. Apparently this is pretty common, as over 50% of children are born with it, and it closes on its own by the time they are 2 years old. Today's appointment was to confirm what the pediatrician suspected--that it is already closed. It was, and he is, in the doctor's words, perfect.

My humbling experience happened in the waiting room. I arrived early, allowing myself time to give Landon a bottle before his appointment. Brendan had his PSP and headphones, so he was good to go. Another mom with a baby and a 4 year old (both boys) was already there. I check in, then sit down and start to feed Landon. Then this exchange happened:

Other Mom: Oh, does he take a bottle well?
Me (a little surprised and confused): Oh, yeah. He's a good eater.
Other Mom: That's great! (Nods to her baby in the carrier) He doesn't eat. He has a feeding tube.
Me: Oh, wow.
Other Mom: How old is your baby?
Me: 5 months.
Other Mom: My son is 7 months old.

I notice that Landon is significantly larger than this other baby. Granted, I have big boys, but we are talking serious differential in size.

Other Mom: Has he had to have any surgeries yet?
Me: Oh, no. He just had a tiny hole in his heart, which seems to be healing on its own. We are very blessed.
Other Mom: That is great. He has had 12 surgeries already.

About that time, her baby finished "eating" and she removed the feeding tube. Then I hear this horrible sound like the child can't breathe. She nonchalantly explains that he retches because he is unable to burp. He has GI problems, in addition to the 12 holes in his heart. Yes, 12 holes. My response again: Oh, wow.

I'm glad I didn't tell the woman I'm an English teacher with a Master's degree because my vocabulary was nonexistent today. I just looked at this woman and saw the life she is leading and was humbled. I thanked God for my 2 healthy little boys and said a prayer for this lady. Her attitude was amazing. She was upbeat and just like any other proud mama talking about her kids with another mom. I admired her strength, and wish we had gotten to talk longer. Maybe I would have been able to say something more inspiring than "Oh, wow." But then again, maybe she just needed someone to talk to at the moment. Who knows? I just know I have hugged my little boys a little tighter tonight, thankful for what I have but also wondering...why do some people have it so easy while others so hard?

Big News

Wow, so it has been almost a year since I have posted anything on here. Hopefully that will all change soon since I'm having my second baby in 6 days!! Landon James Harvey will be arriving on Feb. 4--Brendan's birthday--three weeks early so that I can avoid having an 11 pound child! We have lots to do before then. We are having Brendan's birthday party this weekend, so there is lots to prepare. I have all his presents wrapped, and now I have to bake and decorate the Diego cake I promised him. Then we will have a couple of days to relax before baby time! The clothes are washed and put away, the bassinet and baby bed are ready, the bags are packed, and I am ready for this baby to get here. I have had an easy pregnancy, but I am still ready to have my body back to myself. I can't wait to sleep on my back again!

I am going to make a distinctive effort to be better about blogging. Like I said, since I will have lots of updates to share with everyone, I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to blog. We shall see.

Sickness abounds

We cannot seem to get well in my house! Last week, I spent Wednesday-Friday home with Brendan. Yesterday he finally seemed better, so he went back to school and I returned to work. Then last night as Joey and I were getting ready for bed, we heard him making some strange noises. I went to check on him and found that he had thrown up everywhere. I bathed him, put everything in the washer, and put Brendan in the bed with us. About the time we all drifted off to sleep, he threw up again. This continued from about 11:30 until 4:30 in the morning. I took him to the doctor today, and he said it was just a virus and he should be over it. The antibiotics from last week are still in his system, so it couldn't be anything else. Meanwhile, Joey and I are both coughing and sniffing like crazy. I will be so glad when we are all better!

So, I was pretty pleased with my attempt at making Brendan's cake. It took FOREVER, but most of the time was spent mixing the icing colors to the correct shade. The actual decorating didn't take too long at all. The look on Brendan's face when he saw it made it all worth it. He was so excited!! Tonight before he went up to bed he said, "Thank you for my Wall-E cake, Mommy." My little boy is acting more and more grown up. It makes me so proud and so sad, all at the same time.

Happy Birthday Brendan!!

Today my little boy turns 4. It is so hard to believe he is growing up so fast. It is honestly hard to remember what our lives were like without him. Unfortunately, he is not feeling well today. In keeping with his tradition of being sick on his birthday, I had to take him to the emergency room last night after coughing for hours. They gave him some meds and sent us home around 10:00 last night. He has an appointment with his doctor at 11:00 this morning, so I am home with him today. We know he doesn't have pneumonia from the chest x-ray they did last night. Hopefully they will give him some meds and send us home to start his birthday celebration. We had already planned to have his big family party this Saturday. I was going to send cupcakes to school with him today, but we'll just do that tomorrow. I like to make birthdays a week-long celebration anyway. (Just ask Joey--I milk the birthday thing for several days before and after the big day!)

Joey started his new job on Monday. So far, the days he has worked have been the coldest days we have had recently. (Did I mention he works primarily outside all day?) He is having to adjust to the weather and the hours, but we love having him home with us in the evenings. Hopefully the weather will settle down soon! Other than that, things are going well.

Baby Shower

We had a baby shower for a lady in our church a few weeks ago. These were my contributions. I had so much fun making these. I love to bake, but I'm just starting to experiment with the decorating. Brendan has asked for a Wall-E cake for his birthday, and I am going to attempt to make it on my own, so I will post the finished product this weekend.

News

Well, obviously the new year has kept me busy and prevented me from updating the blog. My Master's classes started up again last week. Thankfully, this semester doesn't appear that it will be as stressful as previous ones.

Joey got a new job!! He has spent the last 3 years on the night shift, and it has been horrible. He works 12 hour shifts, which means that he only works two or three days at a time, but then he spends his first day "off" trying to catch up on sleep. Plus, he has to work every other weekend. His new job will be Monday-Friday, 7:30 to 4:30, off every weekend and holidays!! We cannot wait! Plus, he will be working in Jackson County, 1o minutes from home and on the way to my work. We can even ride together some days if we want! The best part is going to be having him home with us so much. He is taking a small pay cut, but we will end up saving money in the long run, and besides, the family time more than makes up for it.