The Latest...

Okay, let's see if I can make this story make sense.
Back before Stacie moved, she had several ultrasounds done. At first the doctor thought she may have placenta previa ( placenta covering the cervix). Upon later examination,he determined, no all was well.
Fast forward approximately 4 months. An O.B. that Stacie saw, felt that there was still a question about the position of the placenta and sent Stacie into for another ultrasound last Friday. Placenta was ok.
Tuesday, the doctor called to tell her that her amniotic fluid was really low. Normal is 11-13 cm. and she had 6 c.m. The soonest the specialist could see her was today.
Thursday she was having a lot of contractions. The baby was barely moving at all. She called the doctor who reassured her that all was probably well.
This morning at 10:30 the ultrasound was performed. There was a tiny amount of fluid around the umbilical cord. Julianna was almost out of time.
In a whirlwind of activity and paperwork. Julianna was born about 2:00 EST. Mommy is doing well. Julianna can breathe on her own. But she needs to under an oxygen tent so she doesn't have to work so hard.
Stacie is looking forward to being able to get into a wheel chair and go see her precious daughter.
Thank You God for intervening!
Please continue to pray for them. Josh spiked a fever of 104 so Eric had to take him to the doctor. Colleen ( Stacie's mom) is flying back to Michigan.
Julianna will be released when she can breathe, suck, and is gaining weight.
Happy Sabbath!

Update

I spoke to Stacie's sister. She said that Julianna is here weighing 5 lbs and 5 oz. She is able to breathe on her own ( PRAISE GOD!). She is in the NICU at this time. More to come as I hear more.

Please Pray

Some of you may know my friend, Stacie Saylor. For those of you who don't... I posted back in Sept. asking for prayer for her when she was having preterm labor.
I called her this morning. She mentioned she was headed in for another ultrasound with a specialist. It seems that the ultrasound she had last week to check the position of her placenta revealed that Julianna's amniotic fluid was dangerously low.
The doctors office didn't call to tell her that until Tuesday. Then she couldn't see the specialist until today. She said she'd call me this weekend to tell me what she'd found out.
Several hours later, her husband called to tell me that in addition to the low amniotic fluid, she is breech, and Stacie is having a lot of contractions.
The doctor feels she'd have a better chance on the outside. Hence, she's having a c-section today.
Please pray that both mother and baby do well and thrive!

sick kids

I'll make this short. At about 7:45 last night Lucas started throwing up. He stopped at midnight. Abrianna has taken over from him. Please pray for her. She's thrown up 7 rimes so far. She can't keep a thing down. My poor babies :-(

Movin' on...

While I was making Lucas some lunch, she was movin' along. Here she was playing in the edge of the fireplace and with the wood rack.









I put Abrianna down in the living room while I finished loading the dishwasher and started some laundry.
When I came back out, there she was under her high chair in the kitchen eating her spilled fruit puffs.


Its always so much fun when they first do something. Give her another month or two and I probably won't think its so cute anymore :-)

Sick tummy and awesome husband

At 2:30 am, I woke up with a stomach ache. Maybe its gas... Well, it was and a whole lot more- some intestinal bug. Rick didn't realize I was sick until he got up at 5:50 to take a shower and his family was missing.He found me in the extra bedroom on the futon with our children cuddled on either side of me.
As he was getting into the shower, he asked if I needed him to stay home and take care of our kiddles. I decided yes.
He's been so good with them. He managed a dirty diaper change (yeah!!) dressing and feeding them. Also taking them outside to play. It's one thing to take care of them everyday all day and totally another to just have to take over like that.
Afterward the outdoor frolic, as Abrianna played on the bed beside me... She sneezed. A two- inch- long piece of grass came flying out of her NOSE! She wasn't fazed a bit. She'd had fun eating grass and leaves. Her outfit now sports has a grass stain on her left leg.
While Rick was taking care of her, she got up on her hands and knees and crawled a little ways. I'm glad he got to be the one to see it first. He misses a lot being gone 11 hours a day.
Yes, I'm feeling much better now. I can even keep food and drink inside :-)

Timer go beep!

Today Lucas was practicing his, "You're not my mommy! You're not my daddy!" really loudly.
(I've told him to say that if anybody tries to take him)
Well, he was running around half naked. So I told him that I was his mommy because he's been in my tummy and come out when it was time, and it was time to put his underwear back on. So he asked me "timer go beep? " "Yes," I answered, "You came out when the timer went beep." I love to see his logic develop.

Momma's little helper

Lucas loves to "help you!" I've been trying to encourage that- even though it takes longer to do my chores. He's getting better all the time. Today he helped me fold laundry. Look at those wash cloths. They look really good. And he did it all by himself!

Mobility

She's really moving now. Here her journey went through a "tunnel" between the couch and wall.
She cried after I took this picture. She felt I was leaving her "stuck" there.

Avocados

Little Miss Abrianna Lynn Drake likes avocados! This is evidenced by the amount she's sporting on her adorable little face. Its was all fine and dandy.













Until Momma Cleaned Me UP!!
WAAAAAAAAAA!!

Story Time

Lucas Loves To Be Read To... Daddy was obliging him. He amazes me. He'll sit and listen to stories with lots of words and few pictures.

Cause and Effect

Abrianna was merrily scooting/commando crawling around the living room. She grabbed big brother's shoe. Holding it above her head, she released it to see what would happen. Bam! smack into her face. Rick and I were rolling with laughter. It didn't faze her a bit. On she went with her play.

I'm eating by myself

Dr. Wren felt it was time to officially start on solids on a daily basis. So far we've tried bananas, pears, and beans. Now that she's eating some foods, she really wants them. So day before yesterday I dug out Lucas old high chair. She's so tiny in it. As you can see, her little head just barely pokes above the table.
Breast milk is very efficient. Table food isn't. With the introduction of fiber, her stools are more plentiful. This morning I was making supper for Jenee' while holding Abrianna on my hip. I kept thinking, "boy, her diaper is really wet". It had soaked through my robe and pj's to my skin. I glanced down and figured out a little late that it wasn't pee on me. Ick! Into the bathtub with her. Very quick shower for mommy and we were back in business.

I a Little Baby

Lucas must be needing some more one on one attention. He keeps telling me he's " a little baby" He has been demonstrating that by climbing up into sister's high chair. Asking to be picked up etc.
Oh, on a side note...
He keeps snorting and telling me he's a pig. Its funny. Especially in light of the fact that's how he's been eating lately. Every time I go to pick him up he feels like he's gained weight. I think he's put on over 3 lbs in the past month. That's a lot when you were only 27 lbs to begin with.
After his large supper at El Sombrero last night, I asked if he was going to pop. Yep! And his little baby was going to come out. I guess he figures when mommy's tummy stuck out that it had a baby in it. So must his. He also has a frog in there. I asked how they were going to come out. He told me from his belly button. Too funny.

The Little Chump and Schmoopy

Written by Auntie Jen ***

So I had decided last Thursday night against visiting the land of the Sweet Onion over the weekend since I have a big test tonight, but Rachel quickly changed my mind in less than a minute to come anyway.

I'm glad I did.

I got to see the little mister Lucas, aka, Chump, and the sweet little cutie pie, Schmoopy (aka, Abrianna).

I like nicknames that you can cuddle with, and that roll off the tongue. My ex's niece's nickname was tiggy--not an over flattering nickname, especially when you find out that she got that name from her older brother, who could not pronounce the adult's version of Titty Pig, but he COULD say Tiggy. Apparently, she loved her mother's breast milk quite a bit. Nothing wrong with that!!

I think Lucas is quite the chump. I'm sure there is a better nickname out there for him, but until some genius individual can come up with something better, that is what it is in my noggin.

Schmoopy is something different. I've heard it tossed around before by a distant friend, and it just stuck in my brain when I saw Abrianna this weekend. Schmoopy. Schmooples. Schmoopie pie. THAT is a cuddly name, for a cute little big blue-eyed doll.

Unfortunately Lucas has grown out of his baby words that crack the non-Rachels and non-moms up, such as bench which sounds like bitch, or Frog which sounds like.... yeah. Earlier this summer, after a gleeful session of getting him to say frog you bench, all of us got bashfully red when he stood up in church and yelled that phrase, making Rachel turn all shades of pinks, purples, then red. Red for pissed off in a righteous and yes, justifiable manner.

Kids are cute, especially ones that don't fully realize what they are saying. Lucas came up to me and said, "Sister has a penis!" I had to explain to him that only boys and men, such as him and daddy, have penis'. He apparently got it, because he very forcefully told me Mom has a 'Jinah.

He has now started a habit of loving to pray. He was very hungry and wasn't about to wait for us to stop talking, so he suddenly burst into "dank yew Hesus for food. I love yew. Amen." During the preacher's prayer he would repeat every phrase he could catch during prayer: "Lord Jesus," ((Yord Hesus)) "thank you for this Sabbath" ((dank yew for dis Sabbaff)).... I can't help but crack my eye open and stare at him with a smile on my face, as he kneels and veriously seriously, with hands clasped tightly, repeats the prayer word for word, and when he misses some words, he mumbles until he catches back up.

Watching Rick and Rachel raise these two Adorables, I have to say my view of parenthood has changed and my perception expanded. As the youngest of the three Drake kids, I have little to no experience around children. When I first held Lucas and after shedding a few tears of awe, I was downright scared of hurting him somehow. Now I look at him and desperately wish I could go back to my childhood years of simplicity and blissful naivity, begging Mom to kiss my owie over and over, dancing around to get everyone's attention focused on me, and laughing and laughing when the adults laugh even though I don't get what the joke is.

Instead, I am now the adult. Wondering where in the world my life has gone, and how I got here. Not that "here" is a bad thing, but that "here" has whizzed here so fast I don't know where the past few years have gone--they dissipated with the blink of an eye, and now I've got bills to pay, jobs to hunt for, and nagging fears of more unsuccessful days ahead.

I can be one of those bad aunts who live vicariously through the nephew and niece, and participate in their joys, tears, happiness, child prattlings, and let their new life experiences jog my own memories of those younger years, to hold onto those memories to sustain me through these rough waves that dash against my small frame, and hold onto that life rope called Family and Hope.

I was sad to leave yesterday, and sad to kiss both the chump and schmoopy goodbye, but I have a new resolve to learn to ask people to kiss my owies more, then jump back up and go rev my engines and tackle my life that is set before me.

I am not alone.

We are not alone.

We have each other. Whatever pain and troubles face us all, we have a connection to each other, whether through genetic ties or similar life pains. we can kiss each other's owies, hold each other tight, and say "I love you" more. Because it is true. Like the security Lucas and Abrianna have, we have between all of us, even if we don't know each other.

4-Wheeling girl

Yes, She's sitting on there by herself. She can balance for short periods of time. She really liked being up there like her big brother.

Apple Sauce

Ahhh..... Isn't it a beautiful sight? Two days work. The first day of 10 + quarts were done while holding Abrianna (my arm aches )I was smarter today. I stretched out the process- so I didn't have to hold her so much. Its such a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I feel like "Suzy Homemaker."
For those of you who are wondering, There were two split pipes and two check valves on the hot tub. The replacements have been ordered.
It should be done by next week.
Lucas was "helping" my shovel foam into the garbage can. The can is full but there is still much out there.
It's challenging to shovel with a two year old holding onto it and an almost 6 month old in a front pack. But, we managed :-)

Snow??

Several weeks ago, Rick and Reggie made a quick trip to Twin Falls, Idaho to claim Grandpa and Grandma Drake's hot tub.
Rick has dreamed of owning a hot tub for years. He was so excited to set up that Sunday. All that was left was to fill it with water and voila'! Dream come true.
Alas, as it filled with water... We heard the ominous sound of a steady dripping. Not to be deterred, we called Walla Walla Sew, Vac, and Spa. to get a ball park figure of the cost of repair. All he could tell me was it could range from $200 to $2,000. We'll we have $350. Jim ( the repairman) said that we could rip the foam insulation out of the bottom and locate the leaks and then he could repair them and refoam it. Well... Supposedly there was to be 1 1/2 inches of hard foam and the rest would be a loose foam. Nope! You had to carve the foam out all the way in. It was taking a lot of time. So off went Rick to Sun Rental Center to rent a pressure washer. Even with the right tool I took him approximately two hours of work.
Now, I need to call the repairman to fix it. Rick did find two HUGE leaks.
Notice the big pile of foam- which he sweetly asked me to clean up. Don't know how I'm going to manage that.
We'll see.

Reading a Book

A little doll

She looks like a baby doll. In fact, several times this past week several people honestly thought she was a baby doll. Both times she was sleeping. Once in her stroller and the other time in her car seat.
She's such a joy. I'm so blessed to have both of my children.
She's been a little cranky once again. Tooth number two is almost through. We'll be done with it in hopefully several more days.
I forget if I mentioned this or not... She growls. Its the funniest thing to hear this little girl growl.
I think Lucas began teaching her that before she was born. Well, she's learned it well. Last night she was growling at the book club ladies.

Train soap

Since mommy feeling better and able to spend more time filling his love cup,
Lucas is not acting out as much.
Though frankly I'm still not sure what to do about him hitting me. Yes, I've tried holding his hands, spanking, hugging, and telling him firmly that he isn't allowed to do that. Any ideas from you other moms?
He's such a funny kid. As I write this he's telling me he's a boy, a little boy, a tiny boy, a Harold Lucas Drake boy, " I live in WA WA Washington- translation walla walla Washington.
"I riding a horse" (a broom with the bristles towards the front)
Then he finished drinking his water. To which he declared, "Good Job Lucas! Yeah!"
I truly believe my children are a joy. Just harder to keep that in perspective if you've had several days of little to no sleep. I've gotten three nights of decent sleep in a row. Thank you Jesus!!

The fence no longer contains him

Lucas is growing up so fast. These pictures show he can scale our backyard fence. But that's okay. I don't allow him out there without an adult anyway. Notice his shirt? He's dressing himself now. That's our cat Napoleon with him too.

Lightening McQueen and Doc Hudson

My son is into the Pixar movie "Cars". Since he didn't have a Doc Hudson car... He created one out of an extra computer mouse. Hey, its the right size, color and shape. Here he was racing them around the living room.

Acting out

Yesterday was an eventful day! Rick, Lucas, and Abrianna decided to rise and shine at 8:00. Thank God! Rick took pity on me and I got to sleep for an hour by myself. Then Abrianna and I had another hour of rest before lunch!
I'm really grateful for that. I felt lousy. I've succumbed to my children's bugs. Abrianna's tooth has finally burst through !Yeah!! Hopefully she'll be in less pain now.
Lucas was feeling left out. I locked him out of the bathroom while I took baths with Abrianna. Twice yesterday he intentionally dumped full cups of water on the floor at two different times. He wet his pants. Peed in his pull-up and then while in the bathtub, I told him he could put his train soap all over except his face and head. When he called me to shower him off... notice the only places he has his train soap.
I can use any prayers any body's willing to send up for us. I don't know how to deal with all those and other new situations. I don't know if his love cup is just too empty or if he's testing me.
Today has been better. Abrianna only got me up once during the night. Hurrah! I feel so much more rested.

midnight

1:47 am. I've temporarily given up on the idea of sleep. I thought if I went to bed early that I could catch up on some sleep. Alas, not to happen. I was in bed with the lights off at 8:00. My baby has been very restless. I got up at 10:00 to give her painkiller. That didn't work very well. She's still running a low grade fever. I'm coming to the conclusion that its due to some horrific teething!
1:00 am, I gave her some oragel. That worked for a short while. She wouldn't sleep. So, here I am. At the computer.
Please pray that we'll get a break in this teething process soon. My body is succumbing to the stress of cranky children and no sleep. I've got a cold started :-(

A long night...

As I sit at my computer, it's 2:53 AM. I'm holding my restless baby girl. It seems she has caught big brother's bug. She's been running a fever for the past 3 hours. I've prayed. Her safety is in God's hands.
I'm always a little afraid when mt babies have fevers. The dr.'s have told me that the younger the age, the less able their little bodies can regulate it, and the more likely they are to have seizures.
Maybe this is tied to teething. She has two teeth almost ready to burst through the surface.
On a cuter note... She keeps growling at me- learned from big bro. I'm going to sign off and see if my precious daughter might be rocked to sleep.
Good night/morning and happy Sabbath!
6:49 AM. I'm up again. I praise God that when I'm weak (like now) HE's strong! It boggles my mind on how little sleep I can function on.
I was finally able to lay down on the couch with my fevered sleeping baby. A little while later I head, "Rachel? Yes, Rick? Where are you? On the couch. Why? Abrianna has a fever and wouldn't sleep in bed. Lucas is asking for you. I'm sorry, I can't take him. Ok" Then a few minutes little feet padding across the kitchen with the inquiry, "mommy??" Yes, Lucas"
He needed to use the bathroom. His daddy was taking care of it. This I didn't know. So, after answering Lucas he didn't want anything to do with dad. Up I got again. After he'd used the bathroom, he decided he was hungry, insisting on a whole banana.
I took him back to our bed, snuggling him between Rick and I. Eventually I hear a ,"Here mommy." as several slimy banana pieces are handed to me in the dark. I'm sure he probably wiped his hands on my bedding. I'm too tired to care. Then he kept telling me he was cold, shoving his feet beneath me. "Mommy, what are you doing? Sleeping!" This went on and on. After he'd fallen asleep, Abrianna kept waking and crying. I finally gave up and am back in the living room. She's sleeping over my shoulder after being nursed and rocked to sleep.
For those of you who go to my church... Don't expect to see me today :-( I believe the devil has fun trying to keep me away. The odds so far are out of the past 3 Sabbaths I've spent 2 at home with a sick child.

Being a mommy

As much as I've read and watched others... I don't think anything prepares one for the challenges of motherhood. It isn't just the sleepless nights or boring days. I'll admit that as much as I'm blessed to stay home with them, I lack mental stimulation. Conversing with a two year old and 5 month old doesn't stretch my brain.
You'd think that sometimes boring days would be long and drawn out. Hardly! It seems like I blink my eyes and the day is done. I'm crawling into bed, cuddling my children up to me while reading a story. Giving in to one of Lucas' request to "cuddle few minutes!"
These days are so precious. I know that sounds like a contradiction. If you have children, you'll understand.
The frustrations are hoping that you're choosing the best avenue to reach your child. To train them towards adulthood. To pray to God daily and sometimes minutely for wisdom. To raise these precious children with as few scars as possible.

They are also wondering what to do when your child is ill. Lucas has had some unexplained fevers for the past month and a half. They're short lived- 24 hours or less. No other symptoms accompany them. I guess that isn't completely true. The fever he had 1 1/2 weeks ago was accompanied by some hallucinations ; landing us in ER. He was behaving normally be the time we got there. Frustrating but relieving at the same time.I stayed home from church the following day to avoid infecting his friends. I enjoy the limited socializing that I get from church. A spiritual blessing is always welcomed- though rare. I spend most of my time at church trying to keep my little treasures from bothering others.

He spiked another temperature yesterday, spending all morning sacked out on the couch. He felt well enough for a walk mid-afternoon. We spent some time in the backyard after that playing in the sand and grass. He was thoroughly worn out from that play. He fell asleep once again. About 5:15 he lept from the couch, grabbing his zebra flashlight began screaming hysterically. I picked him up. He tried desperately do get away from some invisible thing on the floor and away from his bottle of juice. Poor little guy! He was terrified. I'll admit I wasn't too far behind him. I held him close while we prayed for Jesus to be with us. After 5 -10 minutes he calmed down. I still don't know what caused that. I was ready to run back to ER again! I kept repeating to myself that Rick would be home any minute. As it turns out he didn't arrive for over a half an hour. Lucas' fever broke this morning about 7:00.
Dr. Wren asked me to bring in a urine sample, to rule out the possibility of a kidney infection, this morning and Lucas too if he still had a fever. Lucas has been complaining of low back pain off and on for the past 6 weeks or so. Lucas was officially diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease, again!! Dr. Wren said there are 16 different strains of that stuff. Maybe the hallucinating is a genetic thing. My youngest brother does that when he gets fevers.
Lucas' urine sample was ok. Dr. Wren just told him that he needs to drink more.
Its nap time now. I read Lucas a story and sang him a song. He insisted he didn't need to sleep. Ok, so just rest. I peeked in at him a few minutes ago. Poor little guy. So tired he's sleeping sitting up.