Saturday, December 18, 2010
Experiment
I am trying something new with your feeds. To avoid your monthly “Audrey Episode” where you vomit and have diarrhea nonstop, I am adding one teaspoon of Miralax each time I mix a container of your formula. That comes out to a little over half a teaspoon a day, spread out over the course of the day. Before I was told to give you 17 grams all at once, which is at least a couple tablespoons. And it messed up your digestive system for weeks. I am hoping this tiny, consistent amount will be enough to keep you regular. We will know in about a month!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Audrey Long Legs
You have gotten so long all of a sudden! Here you are in Bubby’s old 6-9 month jammies and they are way too short on you! I couldn’t believe it because you can still fit into most of your 0-3 month clothes thanks to your tiny waste. At this point you are about size newborn around the middle and size 9 months for the length of your legs. Dresses with leggings are about to be our new best friend.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Testify
NOVEMBER 9th
Today at my conference, we did a testimony workshop. We were given a general outline, and then time to work so that if we were ever asked our reason for believing in Christ, we would be prepared with an answer. Since my testimony is a lot about you, I am going to share it with you here. I really just spoke from the heart when I stood up front and told it to the rest of the group. So while I don’t have the exact same words, I am going to type from the heart and hope it comes out similarly.
(Editor's note: I warned the group as I got up that since I couldn't make it through their testimonies without crying, I couldn't hope to make it through my own. But I promised to try to avoid the "ugly cry". There was only one small moment where I got a little choked up, but made it through semigracefully.)
“I had a great life growing up. Nothing tragic ever happened, I never had any hardships. I am one of those who, until recently, would have said, 'My testimony is so boring.' I was raised in a godly home, and knew early in life that God loved me so much that he sent his son to die in order to pay the price for my sins, and then to rise from the dead so that I can spend eternity with him. I had good friends, good teachers. I went to a private Christian school through 8th grade, then transferred to a public school where I met my future husband. We went to the University of Texas, graduated and got married. Ten days later I became pregnant. So much for our five year plan.
“Audrey was born 9 months later with a rare genetic disorder called Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome. She had her first surgery at 5 days old and has had at least a dozen more since then. We spent nine weeks in the NICU testing everything you can think of, at least twice. And almost everything you can think of came back with something wrong.
“The first six weeks before we received a diagnosis we weren’t sure if it was genetic or environmental. I was asked all sorts of questions about my pregnancy and lifestyle and family history. Now it’s clear to me that the doctors must have known it was genetic. But at the time, a lot of guilt was associated with the idea that this might be because of something I did or didn’t do. I went over every event of my seemingly perfect pregnancy looking for something I might have overlooked.
“Maybe my once weekly soda was too much caffeine. What if I took too many baths that were too hot? I went to a Caedmon’s Call concert early in the second trimester. It was really, REALLY loud. I could feel the vibrations in my core. Did it shake her up too much? These are the types of ridiculous thoughts I entertained for that month and a half.
“Often, well meaning friends would point me to the passage in John were the disciples asked Jesus of a certain blind man, ‘Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
“Jesus’ response: ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
"I knew the hearts of my friends who reminded me of this. They wanted me to know that it wasn’t my fault, that this was God’s will for her life. But to be perfectly honest, that verse didn’t make me feel better. It hurt my feelings. Deep down I thought, Really? God is so big and so powerful, he chooses to make my sweet baby suffer every day to bring himself glory? How selfish. Couldn’t he find another way? That doesn’t sound like my God.
“Then one Sunday, God spoke directly to me through my wise and sweet Sunday school teacher. She reminded my class of how in the original language, there were no capital letters, no punctuation, no paragraph breaks.
“The NIV reads like this:
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
“But perhaps Jesus said it more like this:
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened. So that the works of God might be displayed in him, as long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
“These things happen. And they suck. And we wish they didn’t. But God doesn’t necessarily cause them in order to bring glory to his name. When they happen due to sin in the world, he USES them to bring glory to his name. That sounds more like my God. Able to make something so precious out of something so apparently sad.
“Audrey is one of the best things to have ever happened to us. We have had some tough moments, but overall she has brought us an abundance of joy and laughter. People from literally all over the world know of her, follow her blog and love her. Countless people have told me that because of sweet Audrey, they don’t take for granted the health of their children anymore. Or they have cut back on complaining, because if Audrey can be so happy in her circumstance, they can too. I was told of a woman who realized she needed to reconcile a relationship because of Audrey. This little girl who is “capable” of so little has touched so many people and made an impact on more than just her little world. I am sure there are many other examples that I won’t be told till I am on the other side of heaven. And when that happens, Audrey can listen to the stories with me because she will be healthy and whole and just as beautiful as she is now.”
Today at my conference, we did a testimony workshop. We were given a general outline, and then time to work so that if we were ever asked our reason for believing in Christ, we would be prepared with an answer. Since my testimony is a lot about you, I am going to share it with you here. I really just spoke from the heart when I stood up front and told it to the rest of the group. So while I don’t have the exact same words, I am going to type from the heart and hope it comes out similarly.
(Editor's note: I warned the group as I got up that since I couldn't make it through their testimonies without crying, I couldn't hope to make it through my own. But I promised to try to avoid the "ugly cry". There was only one small moment where I got a little choked up, but made it through semigracefully.)
“I had a great life growing up. Nothing tragic ever happened, I never had any hardships. I am one of those who, until recently, would have said, 'My testimony is so boring.' I was raised in a godly home, and knew early in life that God loved me so much that he sent his son to die in order to pay the price for my sins, and then to rise from the dead so that I can spend eternity with him. I had good friends, good teachers. I went to a private Christian school through 8th grade, then transferred to a public school where I met my future husband. We went to the University of Texas, graduated and got married. Ten days later I became pregnant. So much for our five year plan.
“Audrey was born 9 months later with a rare genetic disorder called Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome. She had her first surgery at 5 days old and has had at least a dozen more since then. We spent nine weeks in the NICU testing everything you can think of, at least twice. And almost everything you can think of came back with something wrong.
“The first six weeks before we received a diagnosis we weren’t sure if it was genetic or environmental. I was asked all sorts of questions about my pregnancy and lifestyle and family history. Now it’s clear to me that the doctors must have known it was genetic. But at the time, a lot of guilt was associated with the idea that this might be because of something I did or didn’t do. I went over every event of my seemingly perfect pregnancy looking for something I might have overlooked.
“Maybe my once weekly soda was too much caffeine. What if I took too many baths that were too hot? I went to a Caedmon’s Call concert early in the second trimester. It was really, REALLY loud. I could feel the vibrations in my core. Did it shake her up too much? These are the types of ridiculous thoughts I entertained for that month and a half.
“Often, well meaning friends would point me to the passage in John were the disciples asked Jesus of a certain blind man, ‘Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
“Jesus’ response: ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
"I knew the hearts of my friends who reminded me of this. They wanted me to know that it wasn’t my fault, that this was God’s will for her life. But to be perfectly honest, that verse didn’t make me feel better. It hurt my feelings. Deep down I thought, Really? God is so big and so powerful, he chooses to make my sweet baby suffer every day to bring himself glory? How selfish. Couldn’t he find another way? That doesn’t sound like my God.
“Then one Sunday, God spoke directly to me through my wise and sweet Sunday school teacher. She reminded my class of how in the original language, there were no capital letters, no punctuation, no paragraph breaks.
“The NIV reads like this:
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
“But perhaps Jesus said it more like this:
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened. So that the works of God might be displayed in him, as long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.’
“These things happen. And they suck. And we wish they didn’t. But God doesn’t necessarily cause them in order to bring glory to his name. When they happen due to sin in the world, he USES them to bring glory to his name. That sounds more like my God. Able to make something so precious out of something so apparently sad.
“Audrey is one of the best things to have ever happened to us. We have had some tough moments, but overall she has brought us an abundance of joy and laughter. People from literally all over the world know of her, follow her blog and love her. Countless people have told me that because of sweet Audrey, they don’t take for granted the health of their children anymore. Or they have cut back on complaining, because if Audrey can be so happy in her circumstance, they can too. I was told of a woman who realized she needed to reconcile a relationship because of Audrey. This little girl who is “capable” of so little has touched so many people and made an impact on more than just her little world. I am sure there are many other examples that I won’t be told till I am on the other side of heaven. And when that happens, Audrey can listen to the stories with me because she will be healthy and whole and just as beautiful as she is now.”
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Ouch
You had a tough day SweetCheeks. First off, you were sick Friday and Saturday. Just your usual Audrey sick—constipation that leads to nonstop vomiting and diarrhea and dehydration. So your bottom is absolutely raw and bleeding and painful. Then today, while we were at a lunch event for church, I stood up with you in my arms and noticed you were about to cry. I quickly realized your tube had gotten stuck in the crack of the chair, and when I stood, it popped your button out. That really hurts. But putting it back in REALLY hurts. I am sorry Boo. I hate it when that happens.
Later this evening, Bub was trying to be sweet and saying hi to you, but got a little rough and scratched you across the forehead. Of course, you didn’t even make a pouty face for that, because Liam can generally get away with just about anything as far as you are concerned. But it did leave a big mark, almost drawing blood, and it will be scabby and most likely scarred soon. Sorry again.
Later this evening, Bub was trying to be sweet and saying hi to you, but got a little rough and scratched you across the forehead. Of course, you didn’t even make a pouty face for that, because Liam can generally get away with just about anything as far as you are concerned. But it did leave a big mark, almost drawing blood, and it will be scabby and most likely scarred soon. Sorry again.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Stunt Girl
Oh my goodness. I can’t believe what I did today. You, Liam and I got to church a little late and I was rushing to get you into childcare so that I could eat, get dressed, get brother dressed, and get out onto the Path for our scene. I loaded up the stroller to the max…two diaper bags, my clothes, Daddy’s clothes, big blanket to sit on, a jacket, plenty of toys and snacks to keep Bub occupied during showtime. I wheeled you both into your classroom looking like we were moving in. Brother was fussing to get out and play with his friends, so without even thinking about it, I took him out of the front first. And the whole stroller went flying back with the weight of the bags. Immediately I dropped him and rushed to the back to see what state you were in. You were a little upside down, but not concerned in the slightest. You were laying down to begin with so fortunately your angle didn’t change too drastically. Still, I couldn’t believe I did that! I know better! I just didn’t think it through at all.
While you were brave as can be, Liam was terrified. He witnessed it all and screamed louder than I have ever heard him. He might have been more scared because I dropped him on his rear to get to you. But I like to think he was worried about his sister.
While you were brave as can be, Liam was terrified. He witnessed it all and screamed louder than I have ever heard him. He might have been more scared because I dropped him on his rear to get to you. But I like to think he was worried about his sister.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
On a roll!
Audrey, tonight as Daddy and I were getting Liam to bed and dinner ready, you were laying on the floor relaxing. Daddy walked by at one point and realized you were on the opposite side he had placed you on. You rolled over! So we flipped you back over and continued getting things done for a couple minutes. Next time I looked at you, you had rolled again! So we reset you again, and again, watching you go from your side, to your back, to your other side. You flipped over a total of 8 times! That is SO BIG Audrey!
We caught a couple of your rolls on video. This particular time, Daddy encouraged you to roll by coughing—one of your favorite silly sounds. This video has an added bonus! You said “Dada” perfectly in sign language mid-roll. You were really trying to turn over to talk to that funny Daddy.
We caught a couple of your rolls on video. This particular time, Daddy encouraged you to roll by coughing—one of your favorite silly sounds. This video has an added bonus! You said “Dada” perfectly in sign language mid-roll. You were really trying to turn over to talk to that funny Daddy.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Turkey Day!
We always go around the dinner table and talk about what we are grateful for. I spoke up for you saying that you have been so healthy, and doctor visits have been super rare.
Can you guess what I am most thankful for? Definitely you guys. But what I talked about was that I am able to stay home with you and brother. I would be so sad if I needed to leave you to work. Instead I get to spend my days with two of my most favorite people on earth, waiting for number one to come home.
I love my family.
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