Quick Update

Noah had his eye and ear doctor appointments the first week of the month so I wanted to update you all.
His right eye is responding well to the drops and his vision was much better in that eye. He is so cute during his exam, talking really silly when they ask him what the shapes he sees are. Elijah is just all over the place trying to push buttons and pull cords and climb in the exam chair with Noah. My own personal "curious George."
He still has the hole in his left eardrum. :( But we have 6 more months of waiting and praying to see if it can in fact heal on it's own. Our bodies are miraculous healers and I believe it can! He will also have a hearing test then to determine his true level of hearing. It is hard to get an accurate test until they are 4 or 5. He doesn't seem to have any issues hearing unless it happens to just be convenient...like "Noah pick up your books that you threw off the shelf for the tenth time today!" lol Somehow he just doesn't respond to that.
On the positive side, Noah was released from physical therapy this week!! YAY!! His strength is not 100% on the right side, but she believes he will get stronger as he grows a little more, and of course we'll continue to work with him at home. No more Therapy Tuesdays! Noah was actually kind of sad because he likes therapy and his therapist. I told him we would have to make a Wiggletime(toddler play place) date each week instead, and he decided that would be super. lol :)
Everything is going good with the whole family. I am very pregnant now, and entered the third trimester yesterday. It won't be long until we get to meet "sister", still yet to be named. The next 2 months are going to be spent cultivating my "nesting" commands. I'm sure Jason is going to love it!

'Tis the Season

For those of you who check in here to see how we are doing, I apologize for being so slow to write again. Life with two little boys can keep you busy. And now that we are expecting a little girl, I am sure I'll have my hands full.

Noah is doing great. He turned 4 on October 11th and I can't believe it's gone by so fast! He is such a sweet little guy and makes us laugh all the time with his quirky little personality traits. Jason thinks he acts just like me, and I think he acts like my Dad. LOL He is a super special boy and I am loving watching him grow everyday.

Health wise, we are still dealing with a few small issues. Currently, Noah has to have eye drops daily to improve the strength in his right eye. His vision is good, but he prefers to use his left eye since the muscles are a bit stronger in that eye. So to prevent loss of vision in the right eye we are trying these drops instead of patching since that is such a challenge. In 6 months, we should see improvements in the right eye if all goes well.

We are also still in physical therapy once a week to help improve strength in his right arm and shoulder. The curve in his spine causes the weakness, but he has gotten so much stronger the past few months. The therapist thought we might be able to slow down a bit, but after a few missed sessions, his right side had weakened a bit, so we are going to continue weekly for now.

As of the last doctor's visit, he still had the hole in his left eardrum. The ear doctor is giving the ear plenty of time to heal on it's own, but if it hasn't done so by this summer, he will have to have surgery to repair it. I am really believing/praying/hoping for his ear to heal on it's own. I know that there are complications that may come about from the surgery and I hope to avoid it if possible. I am glad the doctor is giving it time and isn't rushing him into surgery before the body has a chance to heal. We have been told by another doctor that he rarely sees them close on their own, but we believe in healing and trust that whatever the outcome, he is in God's hands.

We have several appointments coming up in the first of the year which will outline how the rest of the year will go. We have had a nice break this year and we have enjoyed being out of doctor's offices so frequently! We are hoping that we can be out of them even more in 2010.

Those things are small in comparison to the life Noah experiences every day. He is FULL of energy and love. We are still amazed at how far he has come and how strong everyone has become because of this journey. Even though there are some health issues to overcome, we view everything with trust in our Lord to take care of him completely. To experience how far our Father has brought him has strengthened our faith. Going through it isn't always easy, but looking back after the storm helps walk through those upcoming showers with greater ease and trust. God is so good! :)

Noah is a good big brother, most of the time. He helps me keep Elijah safe since he tends to live on the wild side. lol Noah always lets me know if he is climbing furniture or into something he shouldn't be. Elijah has the best personality, I am absolutely in love with his charm. He is ALOT like Jason, and even looks almost identical to him when he was this age. He is very curious and I have to keep a constant eye on him. He loves to entertain and wants ALL eyes on him, which is easy since he is so adorable. He is 19 months old, but looks and acts like a 2 year old already. He weighs as much as Noah and mimics his every move. They play together really well, as long as Noah is in the sharing mood. My days are so much fun watching them interact and grow together. I am thankful to be able to stay at home and raise them, it is an amazing opportunity.

My due date with Baby Girl (still yet to be named) is May 7th. We are so excited to be having a girl, it will be a wonderful experience. It seems a bit weird to even think of having a girl after 4 years of raising boys, but I know it will seem perfect the minute we meet her. I think Jason is in for a big surprise. The saying "Daddy's girl" seems to always be true, and I know he will experience that bond the way I have experienced it with my "mama's boys. " Children are amazing, and I am so glad God gave me each of them to love and care for on this Earth.

It is Christmas Eve as I write this post, and I am looking forward to a wonderful celebration of our Savior's birth. Every year I become more thankful for Jesus' amazing presence in my life. The stress of the holiday season seems to have taken over this amazing acknowledgement of His life in our culture, but as I grow in Him, it has become so much clearer to me. I was shopping yesterday and the familiarness of the chaos rose up in my heart, the urge to be like the "world", but as soon as I acknowledged it, a bigger presence overcame that feeling and reminded me that I am not of this world, but He who lives within me. It is almost strange when that really sinks in, all those years of going with the world's pace disappears and it's hard to let that peace take complete control. But that is what I'm learning to do, day by day, is trust in His presence and let go of all I know and allow Him to show me true peace. So may the love of Christ give you that peace through this and every season of your life. Thank you for taking time to read my blog, I hope it inspires you to experience the love of our amazing Father.

"Perfect Love drives out fear!"

Since Noah has been to so many doctors, he went through a lot of anxiety having anything done to him, even a simple haircut. Understandably, he was very scared and terrified if he thought he was going to be bothered in any way. He used to scream and cry uncontrollably when approached by a doctor or nurse, but things have gotten so much better lately. I have really prayed for him to learn to trust others and to not live in fear that he is going to be hurt at every appointment. Now that he is a little older and can understand that I will always be there to comfort him, he seems to give me a look of trust and understanding.

Parenting is hard work, but I have learned that effective communication is possible, even to the littlest of ears. I have been patient with Noah, loving him through his fears, never caring what other's think about his doctor's office tantrums, because it was fear that brought them on and he had every reason to be scared. A different child emerged, a scared little boy, and though it broke my heart, I knew one day he would come to understand that we take him to all these appointments to help him, not subject him to his fears.

I know this may not seem like a big deal, but in the past week Noah has allowed me to put a band-aid on him! He had a negative association with them since he has worn so many in his little life, and my cartoon character band-aid boxes have remained full...until last week. I was cleaning out my bathroom closet and he saw the boxes and asked for me to put one on his toe. *tear* He has since developed invisible boo-boos and has requested that Sponge Bob, Clifford, and Curious George come out of their boxes. He typically throws a fit until I take the band-aids off, so this is a big step! He's wearing them like stickers and asking me to wear them too!

We also had our first successful, tear-free haircut yesterday. We have a wonderful hairdresser, Missy, who has always gone above and beyond to cut his thick head of fast-growing hair. She has sat on the floor and cut his hair for over 2 years, bought him candy, given him toys, and worked patiently with us through the fears and tears. Missy loves Noah and he loves her too, despite being scared, he is always ready to see her because he can feel her love for him. He was terrified of the clippers and often times I got a workout trying to keep him still enough to get the hair off his ears, neck, and out of his eyes. Yesterday was a complete different experience, not one tear was shed, and he was even laughing at the clippers saying they tickled. He sat in the chair instead of the floor, very still and cooperative while Missy gave him a haircut. I could see that she was so proud of him, and shared in this milestone with us.

All those prayers and instructions on how to help Noah understand his journey are starting to manifest. Something has changed, he is opening up, showing his amazing personality to others a bit more, and I am thankful for these huge milestones. As parents, it's hard to watch your child struggle in knowing how to relate to others, being timid because of negative events in their lives beyond our control. But once again, God has knocked down another wall, given Noah the confidence to overcome his fears through love. We have been blessed for the most part with compassionate caregivers, and I know that is God's favor in our lives. Those that haven't been so compassionate, well, I'll spare you my thoughts on them and just say they have made us stronger, smarter people. lol So thank you to all those wonderful medical professionals, Missy, and many others who have helped Noah learn to overcome his fears by loving our little boy.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

"Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD." 2 Chronicles 20:17

"The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Revelation 2:10