Lyndie

Guess what we got to do today?

We got to visit Lyndie and her momma, Katie!

...and let me tell you, it's going to be a visit that I'll probably remember for...ever.

Lyndie is 33 days old today!
Oh, happy day!

Knowing that Kevin and I were going to get to see Lyndie, Makayla was very upset that she couldn't go with, so we told her we would take pictures and she could see Lyndie through our pictures.
Upon showing her the pictures that we took, she said "Awww, oh my gosh.  We need to send these to Aunt Nina"...and every time we described Lyndie (like when Kevin compared her little butt cheeks to the size of his thumb), Makayla would say "Come on!". 

...and all Mason kept saying was "Where does Lyndie live?" 

This is a picture of Lyndie's diaper that Katie sent home for Makayla.

Our visit today was short and sweet, but I'm telling you that what we saw and heard will leave an imprint on our hearts and in our minds that we never thought possible.

What I learned during my 15 minute visit in the NICU:

I got to see Lyndie's teeny tiny booty butt while Katie changed her poopy diaper...all while Lyndie slept on her belly.  (little things like a poopy diaper amaze me!...)

That's talent - if you ask me - to change a 2 pound baby through an incubator...that has tubes and lines coming from her...and a ventilator...while she's laying on her belly...PLUS the pressure of an alarm beeping because her oxygen level was decreasing.  Whew! 

After Katie changed her diaper, I got to watch the process of them weighing her diaper...and once that was done, it was time to feed Lyndie.

Lyndie has an orogastric tube - a tube that goes into her belly via her mouth.  And that little tube (it's the orange tube in the picture) is how Lyndie is fed.  The nurses hook a little syringe up and let gravity pull the breastmilk from the syringe, though the tube, and into Lyndie's belly.  BEFORE they feed her, though, they have to pull back in the syringe to make sure that there isn't anything left in Lyndie's belly.  If there was anything that came back in the tube, that may indicate a problem in her digestion.

Katie wears little pads in her bra and then when she's done wearing them, she puts them in the incubator (Lyndie's bed).  Lyndie lays on them so she will always have the scent of her mom with her.

Occupational Therapy has to come in and help with the positioning of Lyndie to improve the development of her hips and legs.  If it were up to her, Lyndie would just have her legs sprawled out and frogged out all the time, but it's important in order to help them grow properly that they be positioned in a certain way and that's where the therapy comes in - they have ways to help support Lyndie while keeping her comfortable.

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We were just visitors.  

We aren't living it.

I know we just got a quick glimpse in the NICU and what we saw and heard doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. 

 There are ups and down, steps forward and steps backward, 

but 

  it's a miracle right before your eyes. 

I want to thank Katie for letting us come up to visit her and Lyndie.
It was a privilege to be able to meet Lyndie and I'm so thankful that she's here to touch the hearts and lives of so many people.

Seeing and talking to Katie today, I left feeling proud of her and inspired.  

"being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed" 

- linda wooten

I know I don't know what Katie and Justin are going through.  I can't know.  I've never gone through something like this and I can't even begin to imagine how they are feeling and everything that they are going through and being forced to think about.
The least we can do is show them that we care -

Love them, pray for them, and be there for them.

 Katie is one strong woman and Lyndie is one lucky girl.

and though she be but little, she is fierce

A Mother's Prayer

We pulled in the driveway after getting home from work tonight.

Makayla runs in the house as I'm trailing behind lugging Mia in her carrier along with a purse, breast pump, a cooler of milk, the mail, Makayla's baby carrier, and two blankets.

I go back out to the car to open Mason's door.  Of course, I can't help him get out of the car because he can do it ALL BY HIMSELF (Mr. Independent Mason Curry).  As I'm standing beside the car waiting waiting waiting on him, I've dripped a gallon of sweat because it's 90 100 degrees out with 95% (?) humidity.
He finally gets out of the car and darts in the house...but doesn't make it to the door before he falls face first onto the concrete.
Picking him up, I begin to soothe him.
I nonchalantly look him over to see the damage, immediately checking his mouth and teeth - which, besides the fat upper lip, appeared fine.
Between the tears and sweat, we become one big wet mess.

His head hurts.

My heart hurts.

We finally get inside and I start getting ice for him to hold on his head.

What made me think he would hold it on there, I have no idea, but I thought I'd try.

As I'm getting ice,

Mason is crying,

Mia is crying - begging to get out of her seat, because yep - she was dropped off in the living room and kinda put on the back burner.

and Makayla is going a mile a minute with super glue in her hand (where did she get that?!) wanting and needing me to superglue something on to her hair brush. Right now.

I take in a deep breath.

All my kids need me right now (something I've been wanting to blog about),

Mason is hurt (he's number 1 right now),

and I still have to do 100 things before we need to leave for dance in 20 minutes.

*sigh*

Sometimes...I wonder how I'll make it to the end of the day!

And just when I start to pucker out, lose the wind in my sails, begin to wear down, I see this -

my blue eyed beauty

a smile through the pain

and a pregnant 4 year old

That's right - 

I know it's not a surprise to a lot of you that Makayla was pregnant tonight, but with each pregnancy she improves more and more.  It's scary.
Tonight she couldn't bend down AT ALL.  It "hurt too bad" to bend down.

Finally, when she had the baby (that I heard crying from all the way from upstairs) she STILL couldn't bend down because she was "too sore".
Wow.

She's funny.
Last night, she said "Ooooh, my contacts" with such conviction as she was fiddlng with her eye, that I swear she would have been able to convince anybody and everybody that she seriously wore contacts! 

When I asked her what contacts were, she said "Ummm, they're like little bubbles"...

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Parenting.

It's hard sometimes.  really hard.

But I'm telling you, that no matter how hard it gets, or how tired I am,

these children of mine fill me up.

They put the wind back in my sails and they brighten my life.

In that moment tonight when I was...

 hot, 

wet from sweat and tears, 

had just finished a day at work, 

worried about the extent of Mason's boo-boo, 

wanting everybody to just stop crying and talking,

trying to pack a diaper bag,

passing out snacks before dance,

helping Mason hold the ice on his head,

letting Makayla know that I cared about her hairbrush,

playing peek-a-boo from afar with Mia...

I needed to remember this -

A Mother's Prayer

...

Give me patience when little hands 

tug at me with ceaseless, small demands.

Give me gentle words and smiling eyes,

to keep my lips from hasty, sharp replies.

Let not fatigue, confusion or noise

obscure my vision of life's fleeting joys

so when in years to come my house is still, 

beautiful memories its rooms may fill.
Author Unknown

The Things They Say

Recently, Makayla has become very inquisitive of mine and Kevin's work.  When we get home from work at the end of the day, Makayla almost always asks:
How was work?

Was it busy?

How was the ER?  Was it busy?

(it makes me giggle.  how many 4 year olds ask if the emergency room was busy during the day or night...)

poopy butt weiner.

...and then the other day, Mason asked me "why you have your work jammies on?" - and I can't help but smile because I love how he is only 2 and he recognizes my scrubs as being part of mommy's work...plus I think it's so cute that he calls my scrubs "work jammies"...it makes total sense!  Poopy butt weiner.

After Makayla inquiring about the traffic through the emergency department, Mason calling my scrubs "work jammies", Mason crying out that he needs to go the hospital after every single time he gets hurt, and over-hearing Makayla question her babies about them having chest pain, I can't help but wonder if there's such a thing as too much exposure.  Poopy butt weiner.

Ahhhh, my kids.  Poopy butt weiner.

The things they say...the things that come out of their mouths.

poopy butt weiner.

Last week Makayla told me that my butt cheeks were huge.

my butt cheeks.

huge.

A couple of weeks ago, as we were walking into church, Mr. Independent Mason Curry was walking a few steps to the side of us repeating "Shut up.  Shut.  Up.  shutup.".  I took him aside and explained to him that the word "shut up" is not a nice thing to say and I didn't want to hear him say it anymore.  He smirked at me and said "shut up".  I told him that it doesn't make me happy when he says that word and then I asked him where he learned to say something like that - who taught him that.  He answered "Jesus".
Hmmmm.
Good answer, buddy.
I think you're wrong, though...
Poopy Butt Weiner.

poopy butt weiner.

A few days ago, we were on our way home and Makayla starts going nuts.  She had to pee sooooooooooo bad.  Poopy butt weiner.  When we finally got home, I rushed to the back door and unbuckled her from her seat.  As she was hopping out of the car, she said "Why do I have to pee all of the time?!  I don't even have a baby in my belly!!!"...poopy butt weiner.


Did you know that if Mia was a boy, Makayla would call her Leo?  Poopy butt weiner.

And did you know that I have to hear the phrase "poopy butt weiner" 50,000 times a day?!  Mason finds the need to end each one of his sentences with poopy butt weiner and often times just blurts out poopy butt weiner throughout the day...followed by an evil dorky laugh.

My 8 Month Old Baby Girl

Today, Mia is 8 months old!!

...and this past month has been full of growing, learning, smiling, kissing, and experiencing many "firsts"!

First Popsicle...

 First Camping Trip... 

First Cracker... 

First Time At The Beach...

First Trip To The Horse Races...

First 4th of July...

First Trip To The Water Park... 

We had a lot of "firsts" this past month and I am looking so forward to all of the other "firsts" that are yet to come!

At 8 months old, Mia has developed a love for sleeping on her belly and devours any cool summer treat (sno-cone, ice cream, slushie, popsicle) that she can get her mouth on.

She enjoys being in the pool,  people watching, and going on long walks.

Her favorite things (which remain constant) are smiling, being kissed on, and watching her brother and sister play.

Mia is always always always happy.  She giggles...and laughs...and makes everything in this world a little better and a little brighter.

She's one amazing little girl who fills me with more joy than I ever thought possible.  

Happy 8 months!

Independence Day

Independence Day - 2013

God bless America, My home sweet home.

The Last 7 Days

The past week was full!

Full of fun,

Full of runnin',

Full of laughter,

Full of work,

Full of family,

Full of friends...

It was full!

For 5 days last week, 

Makayla and Mason attended VBS (vacation bible school).

They loved it!
Mason is still too young to attend VBS, but he has a pretty awesome Sunday School teacher who provides a bible school for the toddlers during regular VBS for the big kids.

Makayla's theme for VBS was "God's Backyard - Under the stars" and she would come home every night singing "Go Serve Our World" - Hey, hey! We’re living in God’s backyard. Hey, hey! And we have a part to play. Hey, hey! So let’s go serve our world every 

day.

Mason's theme for VBS was Mr. Noah's Ark and he would come home at night singing something about rock and sand.

Of course, the highlight of VBS for Makayla was snack time and the highlight of VBS for Mason was craft time.

When asked what the kids learned during VBS, this is what they said:
Makayla - Nothing.
Mason - Jesus loves me.

For 1 day last week,
we went to the horse races.

We met Grandma and Grandpa Allen and Aunt Nina at the horse races for an afternoon.  While there, we said our good-byes to Aunt Nina one last time before she moved to Texas. 

Aunt Nina is such a big part of the kids' life and while we told them that Aunt Nina is moving far far away, I know they can't comprehend what that truly means.  As I was talking to Makayla about it, her only questions were: Is Dave (her cat) going with her? and
Is she going to be living in the same house as Scott (her boyfriend)?

Aunt Nina means the world to my kids and they, along with Kevin and I, are going to really really really really miss her!

For 1 evening last week,

Makayla had dance/tumbling practice.

The parents get to come in for the last 10 minutes of class and see what their kids have learned.  For the entire 10 minutes of this last week, I was a laughing blob.  It was one of those laughs that you can't control and the harder you try to stop laughing, the more you laugh.  I was crying, I was shaking up and down, and my cheeks began to hurt.  Watching Makayla do her little dance cracked me up!  She was backwards, uncoordinated, and always 3 beats behind.  Not being able to dance comes natural to me but I'm pretty sure Makayla's problem is the huge wall mirror that she dances in front of.  I'm pretty sure she looooves watching herself in the mirror and once she steps in front of the mirror, she morphs into some dancing/drama posing diva!  ...quite entertaining.

For 3 days last week,

we made a few unforgettable memories at Lake of the Ozarks with some of our favorite people.

While daddy and I got a weekend get-away at the lake with Uncle Andy, Aunt Jenny, Sara, and Grandma and Grandpa Allen (Aunt Nina joined us for a dinner),

Makayla, Mason, and Mia got a weekend get-away to Grandma and Grandpa Curry's.

While I missed the kids soooo much, a couple of days of grown-up time is just what this momma needed!

It's been 5 years since I've been down to the lake without a baby in my belly or a baby in my arms...so you can imagine how amazing this trip was!  The best part about going childless was riding on the boat with my eyes closed (it's the little things)! 

- Relaxing without anybody to take care of or keep an eye & ear on 24/7

-Laying out on the dock and massive raft without anybody to take care of or keep an eye & ear on 24/7 

-Enjoying the drinks without having to stop in order to care for a little body

-Staying up super late without having to worry about getting up in the night to feed a baby or waking up at the crack of dawn with the little ones...

Every parent needs a weekend like this...and as much as I loved every single second of my time there, the thoughts were always lingering in the back of my head - "i wish my babies were here" or "oooh, the kids would love this so much".

I'm so thankful for the million laughs that were had this weekend and I'm so thankful for everybody who made this weekend possible -

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So, while the last week has been full and busy, I find myself asking the question - Where are those lazy summer days?! 

Aaaahhh...Life is good :)