News!

In May I had a big surprise for my family and decided to tell them in front of the photographer during family pictures. Here are the pictures of Heath's reaction to the news. . .

Once Heath got over the shock, he explained what was happening to the kids . . . I love Isaiah's face as he realizes what is going on!

Family of . . . 

5!!!!

These brothers are so excited to have a baby!

Can't wait to meet you little one!

Back Home

Well, after a few days in the hospital running tests on Owen, we are home. We don't have any clear answers and I feel a little like I'm starting a cycle over again. We are now in a new cycle and this stage is research and gaining as much information as we can. Our doctors don't have any awesome plans so we are searching for more information from others. 

Owen currently has an ulcer and most of his intestine is inflamed, dilated, irritated, and struggling with motility. The doctors have put him on medications to help heal the intestines irritation, motility, and overgrowth of bacteria. The doctors don't have a lot of information about how to help the motility. How do we get this gut moving?

We will be talking to different doctors and maybe traveling for some consults. 

Hopefully we will learn more and get the best care we possibly can for our little guy. 

A New Year, a New Perspective

So, I recently posted about how Owen had not been admitted to a hospital for a full calendar year. We were merely 3 months from making it 2 years. We have learned in the life we live, things often change quickly and we are never in control. We have learned to "go with the flows and simply make the best of any situation we find ourselves in. 

Today the situation changed quickly. One minute I'm dropping both my boys off at school and heading to work, the next minute just enough health concerns are aligned in Owens day to convince the doctor that he needs to be seen. Owen has been struggling with bacteria overgrowth in his gut for about a month now. Intermittent throw up and a lot of diarrhea. Today I contacted the doctor to let her know about his belly distention, extreme amount of gas, and what seemed to be the start of an infection near his gtube site. 

So, in the next minute I'm picking him up from school and heading down the hill to be admitted to the children's hospital. 

Here we are tonight. In a place we spent so many scary nights. So many frustrating and confusing nights. I sit here with a completely new perspective. I'm so thankful for his continued life and mostly healthy body. We have not been in these beds for so long. This place, where I once walked he halls knowing sch and every employee and most frequent parents, I now come to and have to learn new things. Things have changed on this hopsital that is my second home. Owen is still comfortable here but things are not as familiar.

He will have some tests done tomorrow to find out more about what's going on. I will continue to advocate for him and learn this new stage of life we find ourselves in. 

It's Been A While . . .

So, first off, I have to apologize for my absence! Life has been moving fast and it has been difficult to keep up. Moving into 2016 I have felt the need to document more of our life again in a meaningful way. In 2015 we hit so many milestones and I feel the need to share them with you all. 

The most significant milestone being that 2015 was the first calendar year in which Owen was not admitted to any hospital for any reason! It is a milestone I wasn't sure we would ever meet. We had a scare and ended up in the emergency room a week before Christmas and they almost admitted him for observation but they decided it would be ok for me to monitor from home and report back to the doctors. We were so thankful and everything turned out ok. We have so much to be thankful for and I look forward to another full year without a night in the hospital!

In June Owen graduated kindergarten and Isaiah graduated preschool! 

The sister moved back from Oklahoma in May and the boys have loved spending time with their cousin again. Hanging out at the lake, swim lessons, playing in the back yard!

They started school again as a kindergartener and first grader! They are growing up so fast!

In other news, we moved out into our own place for the first time. It has been a goal of ours for a long time and we are so excited about this new chapter in our lives. It has given us new obstacles to overcome and brought us closer as a family in so many ways. 

I want to share with you a video of our last year and tell you that I plan on blogging more often.

Happy New Year!

 Welcome 2016!

https://flipagram.com/f/hqXlG1sc7b

Halloween

The boys just had to be power rangers for Halloween. I guess my days of picking their Halloween outfits are over but they sure were excited about dressing up! On Halloween it was raining so we got out before it got too late. We got out before the rain started and had a good hour of trick or treating before it started raining. We were done by 6:15 but we had some pretty happy boys with all that candy :)

Apple Hill

Apple hill is located near placerville. We took a trip there last year and loved it so much we thought we would make it a yearly trip during October. It really is a blast. The crowds are a little off-putting but it's worth it. There are tons of apple orchards and farms all in one area. During the month they create hay mazes, pumpkin patches, hay rides, pony rides, fishing, feed the animals, and tons of merchants selling their items. You can buy fresh pies, fruit, jams and so much more. It was a wonderful day.

Fishing on the Weekends

We spent our weekends in September mostly soaking up the last days of lake time. These kids just love the water and we want to soak up every minute we can. Who knows if we will have another summer as wonderful as this one.