Into The Deep End

The Epidermal Benefits of Honey

2012-02-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

Guess what I learned today? Honey is great for treating pimples.
Want to know how I know that? No, you don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway because blogs were created for oversharing.

I went to bed last night with a nasty pimple forming on my chin. I could tell it was nasty because it was deep, red, growing quickly, and it glared at me. Because I am a genetically predestined picker, I did a little poking, prodding, and squeezing before tucking in for the night. But I had made that sucker angry and by the time I woke up it was painful to even rest my chin on my pillow. Oops.

So I did what came naturally: I went to Pinterest. True, I could have googled it, but I've got a new love now and my girls and their pins didn't fail me (99% of pinners are ladies. It's an educated guess). I looked up "acne treatments" hoping for something fast-acting and mostly free, and found this: 10 ways to treat acne naturally.

Her website is beautiful, isn't it? Please don't leave me.

Check it out:

Honey as a Quick Fix Honey is naturally antibacterial, which is why it’s used in many scrubs and facials. If you have a pimple that you need to get rid of by tomorrow, just put a dab of honey on it, then a band aid to keep it in place overnight. The next morning, the pimple will be gone or significantly smaller. You can also use honey by itself as a facial mask. Leave it on for an hour or longer if you wish to see a clearer complexion by the next day.

Who knew? I did not, however, have the luxury of waiting 'til nightfall to take care of this sucker. I had made it mad and it was on the warpath. So I told myself I was just going to have to stay in all day (I kinda had to anyway, I'm still getting over a cold), where the only people I'd encounter are the ones that have to love me by law. I got in the shower, ran some hot water over the beast, then put a dab of honey on and stuck on a bandaid.

I left it on for about seven hours before caving and taking a look. And lo and behold, the stuff works! The pimple wasn't gone by any means (the monster had grown far too powerful), but it had shrunk quite a bit, and that was good enough for me. Of course, true to form, I went and poked it again, enraging the sucker a second time. So I re-did the formula and am now waiting for the magic to happen.

It's the next day. The magic happened. After leaving the honey on all night the thing was almost completely gone by morning.

I sure wish I could go back in time and tell this to my teenage self.

And We're Back

2012-02-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hi there!
It's been just over a year since the last post...which is typical.
Isaiah is now 7, Joy is now 2.

Last year we:
Gave up our home and our pets, sold our car, furniture, and almost everything else we own.
Got out of debt and had some adventures.
We've been across the world and back, and don't really know what we're doing next.

Not quite sure what I'm talking about?
Take a gander over here.

I'm (probably) not going to talk about that much here. This is my personal blog in which I will tend to focus on much more shallow things. It's the little things that make my days satisfying (and sometimes bearable) while we wait out this time of uncertainty.

I can only hope I'll be better about posting, but I'm not going to hold myself to any standards. Hopefully the blog re-design will provide some motivation.

And apologies for all the archives with big black boxes instead of pictures. I reorganized and must have broken all the links.

Anyway, enjoy the new layout and please let me know if anything's not working for ya.
<3

In Memoriam

2010-12-07T00:59:00.000-08:00

I made this video for myself - obviously; and I hesitate to share it as I am not entirely happy with it. There is an obvious gap in photographic record of Mum and I from about age six to age twenty, and therefore not enough images to fill out the song. Some liberties were taken.

Anyway, there's my disclaimer.

For the entire version of the song which I highly recommend viewing, go here.

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-11-29T08:44:00.001-08:00

"Look, mom, I spelled restaurant: Y-S-G-O-N-T!"

Taking a walk down memory lane...

2010-11-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day - Catching Up

2010-11-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 30th:
Miriam: We should follow that van. They look like they know where they're going.
Damon: No, we should follow that car.
Isaiah: You know who we should follow? God.

Sunday, October 31st:
"I'm as fast as a cheeto!"

Wednesday, November 3rd:
"Guns are dangerous-er than cars because guns can kill people, but cars can only make you dead."

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-09-12T10:46:00.001-07:00

Isaiah: "Know what, mom? When I grow up I want to be a superhero!"
Mom: "Oh, yeah? Why do you want to be a superhero?"
I: "So I can save people."
M: "What are you going to save people from?"
I: "From sure destruction!"

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-08-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

"Mom, why did God need the stinky animals in the ark too?"

It's All Video, Video, Video...

2010-08-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

ps. Who can name that quote?

Dessert! (yummmmm...)

2010-07-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have recently come up with what has now become my family's favorite warm-weather dessert, created from my mother's Chocolate Crazy Cake recipe. Here's the down low: mix up the batter - then refrigerate! Everybody loves eating cake batter, no? And since this recipe has no eggs, I figure we're safe from the worms my mother always threatened me with. One warning though: go really easy on this! It's super thick and rich and eating too much can give you a tummyache (I'm speaking from experience here). Also, I don't want any comments on how bad this is for you. I've banned soda from my house, so we have to balance out the scales somehow, right?

Yvonne's Chocolate Crazy Cake:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. salad oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 c. cold water

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt together in a bowl.
Make 3 impressions in the dry ingredients.
Into one put the vanilla, in another the oil, and in the other vinegar.
Pour water over all and mix with fork until lumps are gone.
{*Pour batter into a 8" cake pan.
Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes.}

*Do this part only if you actually want cake. It's good too, but if you prefer the batter like me, just refrigerate!

yummmmmmmm......................

E.D.U.C.A.T.I.O.N.

2010-07-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and I FINALLY finished the "Creation" portion of our homeschool curriculum... started 3 months ago. We began homeschooling just before Joy's surgery and have only now picked it back up. At this point, I'm not worrying about the timing, or working through the summer. This way I'll have plenty of time to get it done and I won't have to fret too much if/when we take extended periods of time "off".

To celebrate our first achievement - Pictures!

Here is Isaiah's Creation Book. You'll notice he had a little help from mommy, but it was all solicited; though this girl does like to color.

And this is his Creation Poster:

And no, this kid can not take a normal photo to save his life.

And because this girl is just too darn cute not to include:

A Day in the Life of a Mother

2010-07-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

On the back of this fantastic article, I thought I'd add a new feature here; mostly for fun, but also to remind my husband of how good he has it. ;)

Starting off the day, here's what we're working with:

Ok, we'll come back to that later to see how much of that mess we got cleaned up.

Now, let's entertain the kids!

Don't they look happy?

Oops. Forgot breakfast. You'll just have to trust that I fed them.

Alright, let's start our first load of laundry: Diapers! (repeat twice)

Clean up a spit-up!

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day:

"Look, mom! I'm a football team!"

Now to clean up the kitchen. Position the baby:

Pick up dropped toys.

Clean dishes.

Pick up dropped toys again (repeat as needed, or every 20 seconds).

Ooh, do we have time for a shower?? Position the baby:

Aah! Isaiah volunteers to "entertain the baby", so I take this rare opportunity to shave my legs!

Now to do away with that laundry basket full of clothes. Position the baby:

Hm. Anyone else sense her mood darkening?

Put away Husband's clothes.

Change the baby (repeat as needed, or about once an hour.)

Hey! Look at this!

Going...

Gone!

Finally!

Let's start our second load of laundry.

And entertain the kid!

Lucky me! Husband comes home early and makes lunch. Thanks, honey!

Alas, now the kitchen needs to be cleaned again. *Sigh*

Laundry's done!

Let's swap the loads and put the diapers away.

Baby's feeling better.

Time to clean the bathroom.

Ooh, la la! (I get excited about clean bathrooms)

And while we're at it, let's take out the trash.

ewww...

Yay!!!

Awww, like father...

like daughter. Hey, I caught a smile!

Now that everyone's asleep, let's clean the kitchen. Again.

Time to run the dishwasher, eh?

And while we're at it, let's clean off the table (Yes, yes. I know I just piled all of Joy's stuff onto her highchair. Do we really care?) ...

And the kitty corner!

Now, how about a record for Isaiah?

And feed Joy!

Think she's hungry? I have actually been feeding her (no need to call child services) just about every half-hour.

Second load of laundry done!

Now to put away. First step, as always: position the kiddos.

And, in case you can't tell what's going on here, that's Damon's (work) ipad, running some sort of interactive fishy-water-ripply thing. Very entertaining.

In the midst of the sorting and folding:

Dinner time!

Ok, first off, that's a HOMEMADE pizza wrap. And you want to know why I didn't cook dinner tonight? Do you?? This is why:

Yeah, that's right. 90 degrees inside the house!

And here's Isaiah enjoying dinner. Seriously, this was the best shot I could get.

And while the goofball was eating, I was unloading the dishwasher.

Voila!

Now, we're just about done here. What this doesn't show (I got a little slack with the picture-taking towards the end of the (very hot!) day) is Isaiah's bath (which Damon supervised), story time and bedtime; many lunches/snacks/dinners/suppers for Joy, not to mention the diaper changes; quality play time with the kids (YES I did!); and, of course, all the time it took to accomplish each of these tasks.

Oh, and one last thing I spent all day doing:

Obviously! ;)

Conversation O' The Day

2010-07-15T19:26:00.001-07:00

Damon: "Are you tattling on me?"
Isaiah: "No, I'm just telling my mom!"

(Damon had put water down Isaiah's back.)

So Far... So, So

2010-07-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've been making good progress on the meals. On Saturday I managed to put together 3 in about two hours! To date I have finished:
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Grilled Pizza Wraps
Fiesta Chicken & Rice Wraps
Easy Slow Cooker French Dip
Classic Fish and Chips and
Spicy Black Bean Cakes

So far everything has been good, with special exception to the Fish and Chips which was a HUGE hit! And while the Spicy Black Bean Cakes were ok,they were certainly NOT worth the trouble of all the work it took to make them. Live and learn, I guess!

G.O.O.D. Update 2 - Month of Meals

2010-07-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my first post, as one way to save money (and eat healthier by avoiding fast food, a constant downfall of our family), my Auntie Ruth and I experimented with Once a Month cooking; the intention being that you spend one day cooking all your meals for the entire month, which are then frozen and pulled out daily in time for dinner.

Our original plan was to use a cookbook Ruth had on hand, but after a bit of online research, I discovered a website which I fell head-over-heels for (though later I became a bit disenchanted). The website is Once a Month Mom. The author, among other things, creates a new menu each month based on in-season and on sale items, writes out all the recipes with detailed instructions, creates an organized shopping list, and includes printable labels with re-heating instructions. Needless to say, I was stoked that most of the work would be done for us. Only thing for us to do was shop and cook! So we started last month with the Summer 2010 Menu.

Unfortunately, problems began to arise when we started cooking. There turned out to be quite a few discrepancies between the recipes and the shopping list. We had to make multiple trips back to the store for items. And, though I spent most of the previous day chopping vegetables and pre-cooking meat, after working for 6 hours straight, we were nowhere near done, and Ruth had to cancel plans the next day so that we could finish up. And we did finally finish the next day, however, we literally put in a good 11 hours (7am to 6pm) completing all the meals. Honestly, I don't know how anyone would be able to manage doing all that work on their own and completing it in one day, though some have claimed to do it.

The last issue was with the portion sizes. All of the recipes, the shopping list, and instructions are meant for two people to complete together, to feed two families of four. Since Ruth had only herself and David to feed, and Damon, Isaiah and I are only 3 people, Ruth had the idea to split up the rest of the food between her two daughters, Kerri and Erin, and my dad. According to the website, the meals should have easily accommodated everyone for the entire month. Unfortunately, in the end, it turned out that we really barely had enough food for dinners for 2 weeks. We did save quite a bit of money by splitting it up between four families, however I was very disappointed at what we were left with. On the upside, though, some of the recipes were VERY good and I am including at least one in this next month's meal plan.

So, because of all the trouble we had, I have decided to do this month on my own. Completely. With the expectation that I will be making 1-2 meals a day for about a week. I feel that this will be manageable for me. I have included 7 dinners and 5 lunches (super quick and easy things that Damon can take to work), and I used one of my very favorite websites, Allrecipes.com, to do it all! The thing I love about this website is that, in each recipe, you can change the portions to whatever you need, and the recipe automatically adjusts itself. You can then add recipes to your "Recipe Box", and/or add them directly to your Shopping List, which compiles all of the ingredients and organizes them by department. It's lovely.

This month for dinners we are having:
Spicy Black Bean Cakes
Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers
Classic Fish and Chips
Easy Flat-Iron Steaks in Wine Sauce
Italian Breaded Pork Chops
Beer Butt Chicken and
Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

And for lunches we'll be having:
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Grilled Pizza Wraps
Fiesta Chicken & Rice Wraps
Warm Ham 'n Swiss Wraps and
Spicy Polynesian Wraps

I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes and, of course, I'll let you know!

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-06-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

"But mom, watching a movie is chilling out; and I want to chill out!"

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-06-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

"Cows don't need cowboys to protect them. If wild animals try to attack them, they can just squirt 'em with their milk!"

Did I get that right, Dad?

Fun With Joy!

2010-06-22T17:49:00.001-07:00

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-06-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

"When I grow up I'm gonna fight forest fires in Canada. Because Canada's a forest!"

They're Here!

2010-06-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

My new cloth diapers arrived today! Is it too soon to say I love them? I'm thinking it is. I'll get back to you in a week or so.

I took this opportunity to reorganize our bedroom diapering system (pictures to follow. eventually.). Previously, our system consisted of a stack of disposables, a box of wipes, and an old towel stuffed into Joy's bedside bassinet. And that was convenient for quick and easy nighttime changes. But Joy is sleeping through the night now (!!!), meaning I don't change her 'til about 5:00 in the morning. So I spent the afternoon clearing out some drawer space in my dresser, brought in Joy's changing pad, and set up the pretty waterproof diaper bag in a bin next to the dresser.

Joy has had two dirty diapers so far (urine only), and though they are being stored in an open diaper bag in our bedroom, it actually smells nicer in there! Want to know my secret?
Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator with Live Enzyme Cultures 32 fl oz (946 ml)

This lovely stuff is sprayed on the soiled diapers before they go into the bag and the spiffy little enzymes start the cleaning process right away! The best part, though, is that it smells heavenly. Like citrus. Mmmmm...

So, so far, so pleased. Of course, this could be just a "new toy high". I'll let you know in a week.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the Biokleen does not work quite as well on poopy diapers - at least, not enough to take the smell away. So when Joy has a poo, the diapers go straight into the washing machine for a good soak. Still, fine by me!

G.O.O.D. Update 1 - Cloth Diapering

2010-06-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

For the G.O.O.D. intro, go here, or simply scroll down.

So this month (and probably the next couple), we will be focusing on Step #1 of Dave Ramsey's Get Out Of Debt plan which is to quickly get $1,000 into savings. This is a really good idea and Damon and I could totally use an emergency fund, however, I still find myself a little bummed that I can't start throwing money at our debt right now. Oh, well. We'll get there eventually.

As I mentioned before, there are a couple changes I'll be making to our current lifestyle in order to save as much money as possible (and therefore put as much towards our debt as possible). First off, we're switching from disposable to cloth diapers. Anyone else start crying when they read that sentence? Fortunately for me, there are TONS of great resources out there, starting with a friend of mine from Faith days. Amy has a baby girl a little bit older than Joy, and made the switch to cloth diapers a while ago. Now, Amy did her research. I just benefited from the results. :) Amy was kind enough to share the result of all her hard work with me, as well as her experiences and suggestions. And because of her, I ended up ordering this:

Which comes with these:

And which you can order here:
Click here to visit Kelly's Closet
Check the link out to see what is included in the package. It's really quite nice.

I also ordered this Mini-Shower - Bidet & Multi-Use Hand Held Sprayer from Amazon which should make life and the whole process easier:

Secondly, I found this awesome website (though there are many others out there) with SO MUCH great information about cloth diapering. Check out their 7-day series, "Cloth Diapering 101".
Here is my favorite excerpt:

Disposable diapers are expensive. If a child is potty trained at 3, he will wear an estimated 8,000 disposable diapers — and buying Luvs, Pampers, or Huggies in their economy-sized packs at stores like Target, Babies R Us, Amazon.com, or Costco works out to an average of $.19 per diaper. That’s an estimated $1,520 per child, assuming I buy the diapers at this economic price every time. If I buy the diapers in a regular-sized pack at a grocery store, the average price is $.24 — that’s a whopping $1,920 per child. The price range varies for cloth diapers, depending on what kind you choose. But to make things fair — even if you picked the most expensive kind, the all-in-ones, the average price for those are around $18 per diaper. Or if you buy the 12-pack one-size all-in-ones from BumGenius, you’ll pay $203.40 with free shipping. If you also bought a 12-pack of their flannel wipes at $12, and bought Imse Vimse disposable liners five times a year at $13, that totals a little more than $400. You can use these diapers and wipes for every child, too, so you’re looking at barely more than $400 for all your diapering years. If you had three kids in disposables, that’s $4,500.

Well, that's enough convincing for me. Our new cloth diapers should be arriving this next week! Wish me luck!

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-05-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

"Exuse me, mom; You are the goodest lady ever!"

All together now: Awwwwww.....

Getting (our patooties) Out Of Debt!

2010-05-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Henceforth to be known as G.O.O.D.

Recently I have been feeling convicted regarding our financial situation. At the moment I really feel as if we are living hand-to-mouth, and on the occasion that a large expense crops up (such as car troubles and, in the case of this last month, new carpet) Damon and I have had to borrow money from family to keep from going in the red. This is not a good feeling.

At this point in our lives, when we have a family - children, dependents, we should really be in a place where we can be financially independent. And we need to be good stewards of our money.

Which is why I have decided we are going to Get Out Of Debt.

I plan on sharing our journey here, with family and friends, in order that we can be held accountable and, hopefully, be encouraged on our way. I do not expect this to be easy.

Here is where I will be keeping track of our progress:

You can follow along and, hopefully, share in our successes!

The Plan:
The plan is to follow the Dave Ramsey school of thought, which is, essentially:
1. Quickly save $1,000 as your beginning Emergency Fund.
2. Pay off all your non-mortgage debt using the Debt Snowball method.
(These first two are what I'll be concentrating on here)
3. Save 3 to 6 months of expenses, completing the Emergency Fund from step 1.
4. Invest 15% of your regular household income for retirement.
5. Create a college fund for your children.
6. Pay off your house. (hopefully we'll have a house!)
7. Build wealth and give.

Here is a basic overview of the Debt Snowball Method:

List all debts in ascending order from smallest balance to largest.
Commit to pay the minimum payment on every debt.
Determine how much extra can be applied towards the smallest debt.
Pay the minimum payment plus the extra amount towards that smallest debt until it is paid off.
Once a debt is paid in full, add the old minimum payment (plus any extra amount available) from the first debt to the minimum payment on the second smallest debt, and apply the new sum to repaying the second smallest debt.
Repeat until all debts are paid in full.

And here are a couple ways I've decided I am going to make an effort to save money:
1. Cloth diapers. This is the biggest and also scariest for me. We made an attempt at cloth diapers when Joy was just a few weeks old, but quickly decided disposables were much easier. And they are. I am not looking forward to making the transition, but I figure if I can, I should. Especially if it will save $100+ a month. It's worth it. Wish me luck.
2. I'm gettin' out the ol' coffee maker! Damon is pretty good about making his own coffee in the mornings (we have a press), but in the case that he runs out of time, he will go to the drive-thru. I plan to program the sucker to have a pot ready in the mornings so he can have plenty for work and we can save $3.00 here and there. It really does add up.
3. My Aunt Ruth has agreed to help me make a month's worth of meals in one go. This ought to help save on groceries, plus it provides me with the added advantage of only having to cook once a month (I might be able to handle that)! Our biggest money downfall as a family is eating out. Since I'm not a cook by nature I tend to gravitate towards easy meals. This means they are often boxed, frozen, or made by a sweaty teenager using cow by-products and processed flash-frozen potatoes. The fact that we'll also be eating healthier is also a perk.
4. Hopefully someday soon we'll be able to start our own vegetable garden. This is something we've been wanting to do for years, but have never gotten around to. The hard part is not just building the planters, but doing it cheaply. However, my aunt built an entire backyard fence for free using scrap wood and I figure if she can do it, so can we.

This is all I've come up with so far. Any other suggestions?

Quote O' The Day

2010-05-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Isaiah's take on the crazy rain we're having: "It looks like a carwash outside!"

Isaiah's Funny of the Day

2010-05-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Isaiah and his cousins Aiden and Eli were playing "firefighter" today and chose special firefighter names for themselves. Isaiah was "Jessica", Aiden was "Peter", and Eli was "Eegon".

♫ One of these things is not like the others ♪

Best Mother's Day Gift Ever!

2010-05-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates!

2010-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of updates, thankfully there hasn't been much to say! :) One good note (well excellent note) is that Joy's last appointment went very well. Joy's ECHO came back great! well mostly, the doc said that Joy has a little leak around one of the sutures of the patch they put in to close off the hole between the two ventricles. At first I thought that was bad news, but apparently its pretty normal and should close up as Joy's heart gets bigger. As of right now, the only reason that Joy should need bypass surgery again is if her Pulmonary Valve doesn't grow properly. Dr. Carlson isn't to concerned about that right now.

Also, Joy has been fighting inflammation around her heart. Apparently she is only 1 of 2 babies who have had this issue at Doernbechers, this has caused them to document and start looking into what is causing this to happen. Just two weeks ago Joy's platelets skyrocketed from around 800 to over 1 MILLION! what that means is that she had a lot of inflammation going on. The good news is that last Friday her blood work showed the platelets coming back down! praise God for that!

Whats next...? Joy will have a check up in 3 months, then a ECHO in 6 months. If those appointments are good, then we will start our 1 year checkups!

Thanks so much for all the prayers, love, support, & dinners that have been given to us! Miriam and I are so thankful to have such good friends and family around to help us through this.

God is Good!

-Damon

2010-04-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Genetic Test Results, etc.

2010-04-19T16:13:00.001-07:00

We finally got the results of Joy's genetic test back. The doctor tested for the 22q11 gene deletion which is common in Tetrology babies and - praise the Lord - the test came back normal! If it had turned out she was missing this gene, Joy would have been at risk for other issues, one being schizophrenia. One of the doctors had mentioned that to me while we were in the hospital and, of course, it has been a festering worry in the back of my mind ever since. Thank you, God!

Joy still seems to be in pain and we've been giving her tylenol, oxycodone, and aspirin around the clock. Today, however, we decided we really need to try to cut back on her dosage, or at least extend her time between doses. Yesterday was a really bad one for Joy. We think she had a lot of gas pain and we're assuming this is a result of being on so much oxycodone. Also, we've learned that Joy could develop a dependency to the oxycodone which would not be good. Please be praying for Joy's pain level to go down quickly so that we can cut back on her meds and prevent causing more problems.

We have been so blessed by everyone who has been helping us out! Our friend Tara Spires is here to hang out with Isaiah, get him out of the house and doing fun activities, and allowing Damon and I to concentrate on keeping Joy comfortable. I am so glad he's able to be active, play around, and get lots of attention, which he needs and deserves.

Also, we've been blessed with food by so many people! Seriously yummy homemade food! This has been such a relief for us as we really cannot hardly put Joy down AT ALL and it's difficult to get much done - especially cooking.

Thank you so so much!

Love,
Miriam & Family

Home - Day 2

2010-04-16T20:58:00.001-07:00

Joy continues to be very fussy, acting sore and in pain. We had a doctor appointment today up at Doernbecher and they ran some labs, looking for the source of her discomfort. Everything looked fine and normal except her platelet count was really high. The doctor thinks this indicates swelling around her heart. They also did an ECHO checking for fluid around the heart, which came back clean.

The swelling is not a typical occurrence, but does happen on occasion, mostly with older kids, though. Unfortunately, there is really nothing for us to do for it except wait and hope it goes down on its own. The doctor said this could take days or weeks. She has given us aspirin to give Joy twice a day which she thinks may help with the swelling and lower her pain level.

Please be keeping Joy and Damon and I in prayer. Joy obviously hurts and Damon and I are worn out and stressed out with trying to keep her consoled.

Thanks,
Miriam

Home - Day 1

2010-04-15T17:44:00.001-07:00

We are so glad to be home! As an added bonus, our house was cleaned while we were away! I don't think our floors have looked this good since we moved in. :) Thanks, Michelle!!

Joy is doing well, but she is obviously still in pain. We can give her oxycodone every 6 hours and we are noticing that towards the fourth and fifth hours she gets really fussy and doesn't like to be moved or picked up. Poor girl. We are wishing there was more we could do to make her comfortable, but there's really not much to be done. She is comforted by feeding and so is doing a lot of nursing. Her gas issues seem to be gone (thank God!), so that makes life much easier.

Joy did well last night, only waking up a couple times. I think the combination of it being nighttime and being drugged help her sleep longer.

I haven't gotten much time away from the baby as she seemed to be pretty agitated when I'm not around, but in the hour or so of free time I got I was able to start homeschool with Isaiah! I'm having so. much. fun. Probably more than Isaiah, though he is also really excited about school. We will be learning about the creation for the next 10 days and doing lots of crafty stuff!

Damon and I will be taking Joy back up to Doernbecher tomorrow for a checkup and to have her stitches taken out. Our good friend from Medford will be taking Isaiah while we are out and, I'm sure, doing fun stuff with him.

Please continue to pray for Joy's pain level to go down. It's so difficult to see her hurting and not be able to stop it.

I know many people have inquired about helping out with meals, which is such a blessing to us right now. If you are interested in getting in on that action, please contact Kera Hallman at (503) 437-1661 or the4hallmans@yahoo.com to get on the schedule. Thanks so much!

Love,
Miriam & Family

Going Home!

2010-04-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so just a quick update. All the docs looked at Joy this morning and all agree that she has made a major turn in her recovery in the last day. That being said, we get to GO HOME!

Miriam and I are both extremely happy as well as extremely nervous!

Thanks so much to everyone for all the love, prayers, and support during this very stressful time in our lives.

-Damon

Day 8 Update

2010-04-13T19:22:00.001-07:00

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been so crazy the last couple of days, and Damon and I were so overwhelmed, it was just impossible to even stop for 5 minutes to write anything down.

I think Damon mentioned that the doctors have been looking for the source of the fussiness. Every test has come back clean, though. They've done urine tests, blood tests, x-rays, EKGs, and ECHOs and everything has shown that she is healing nicely, which is wonderful, but leaves our questions unanswered. At this point, however, I think we will just never know. Joy has been slowly improving since last night, so whatever issue she had seems to be resolving itself.

As of last night, she hadn't slept for over 24 hours. A couple women from our church came up to the hospital and stayed with us all evening 'til 11pm, cuddling Joy, rocking and bouncing her, and praying over her while Damon and I tried to sleep. And for the first time in days, Joy seemed to relax and rest. At 11, Damon's mother and step father came and took over, then at about 5am, Damon's sister Melissa came for the early morning shift. When Melissa left, another couple of ladies from our church came to help out. I can't even describe what an enormous relief and help all these people have been. After my last nap at about 2pm, I finally woke up feeling human again, for the first time in DAYS.

Joy, it seems, has been slowly and progressively getting better. She is starting to sleep again and is taking longer and longer naps. She will now tolerate being on her back, whereas she really fought and screamed when we would try to lay her down before. Her heart rate and blood pressure are still high, but have come down some, and she generally seems much more comfortable. This is such a HUGE relief for Damon and I. It is SO nice to see Joy resting comfortably and even beginning to talk and smile again on occasion.

I haven't heard from the doctors yet, but I'm thinking, if she continues to improve, we might be looking at going home tomorrow.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the help, support, and prayers we've received. I really don't know how Damon and I would have gotten through this time without it. Lord bless you all!!

~Miriam

Day 6, Update 2

2010-04-11T22:19:00.001-07:00

Since Joy has been having her gas issues all day and they don't seem to have improved, we're staying in the PICU for another night. Before our nurse went off shift she warned us that we may want to try to get as much sleep as possible, as we would pretty much be on our own once we moved to the new room. She even recommended we both go home to sleep. Of course, I'm not going anywhere, but I did talk Damon into going to his parent's for the night as I thought we'd both get more sleep that way.

Unfortunately, after Damon left Joy started having real problems. She continued to be fussy, but worse than that, started to gag and spit up. At one point she was gagging so much it looked like she had stopped breathing. I yelled for the nurses, who came running, and by the time they'd gotten there she had spit up and started breathing again.

Our new nurse thought that perhaps breast milk would help settle her stomach, so I nursed again which she took fitfully, between crying. Then she threw up. All over me. Totally emptied the contents of her stomach, which was a lot.

The nurse had thought that her irritability and gagginess might be due to withdrawals from the morphine, as Joy had been on a lot for the last 5 days. However, she changed her mind later because Joy is "consolable" when held upright and burped or bounced. They have just now taken an x-ray of Joy's abdomen to see if she may have a bunch of air in there, or a bunch of food, meaning that she's not passing or digesting things like she should. If she has a lot of air in her stomach, they're going to insert the feeding tube again and pull air out that way.

- Okay, the doctor just came in. Joy doesn't have much air in her stomach, but there seems to be some in her intestines which are distended and are making her uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there's not much they can do for this. Medication would only exacerbate the problem, as would feeding with breast milk. They said they might try some pedialite tonight, but mostly we're going to try to keep her tummy empty and let it settle and her intestines start working again.

So, needless to say, we are not going to get much sleep tonight. Joy is only comfortable upright, so I imagine there will be very little putting her down. I can only hope that she passes out from exhaustion before Damon and I do. This is not fun.

~Miriam

Day 6, Update 1

2010-04-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

We've got another proactive nurse today! All of Joy's stats look good, the only problem has been that she's so fussy which indicates a problem. We're working with the theory that it's a gas issue. Our nurse today has said that Joy has been given more pain medication in the last two days than most post-op patients just out of surgery. She says that Joy should only have to be on tylenol at this point. She thinks that her pain level has been caused by the gas in her stomach and things not moving like they should and she thinks this is being caused by the excess medication (like morphine that stops you up) and by the fact that the previous nurses have had Joy on a constant supply of breast milk. So our nurse is stopping all medication today except for tylenol and putting Joy on a feeding schedule (once every couple of hours). We've also been giving Joy suppositories and helping her burp and she seems to be a bit more comfortable at this point. Not a ton, but a bit.

Praises: Damon got to hold Joy today and help her burp, and I got to breastfeed!

We've been told that, if Joy's fussiness improves today, we'll probably be moved to a regular room today where we'll probably stay for a few days. There is potential that we might be going home by Tuesday, though it also may end up being Wednesday or Thursday. We'll just have to see.

Please continue to keep Joy in prayer - it's torture to see her in pain and not be able to help her; and also Damon and I - we're exhausted and haven't gotten much sleep lately.

Thanks so much!

Love,
Miriam & Fam

Day 5, Update 1

2010-04-11T00:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess infrequent updates does not necessarily mean things are going well. Today was a rough day with one praise: I finally got to hold Joy.

All in all, though, it felt as if we took a step backwards today. Joy's blood pressure was up again and she had to have meds for that, her pain level was up and had to have morphine again after a whole day without, and her oxygen levels were too low, so she had to have that bumped up again, after spending yesterday trying to wean her off.

The worst part has been her gassy-ness. It has been causing her a LOT of discomfort and Damon and I have been spending the day trying to comfort a very upset baby.

It's 12:45 am now and I haven't slept yet, so I'm going to try to catch a few Z's while Joy is quiet. Wish me luck!

~Miriam & Fam

Day 4, Update 2

2010-04-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates today. However, that is a good thing. It means there's nothing urgent to report.

Joy has been doing really well today. She has been sleeping a lot and when she wakes up she doesn't seem to be in as much pain as yesterday. She is no longer being sedated and is being given tylenol and oxycodone for pain. Luckily she hasn't needed any morphine today, which is a good sign.

She has also been getting breast milk since last night through a feeding tube, which seems to make her more comfortable. I've been told I may be able to nurse tomorrow. We'll see.

Joy had her remaining drainage tubes removed today which is nice for her. All in all, she seems to be much more comfortable. She will still wake up occasionally with her "scrunchy face" on, but she is easily soothed back to sleep. This is SUCH an improvement over yesterday.

We've been told that we'll probably stay in the PICU through Sunday at which time we'll be moved up to a regular room on the 9th floor for a couple of days.

Thank you so much for all the prayers! It really seems to have helped! Praise God!

Also, thanks to everyone who has brought stuffed animals, balloons, snacks and toiletries! We're really being taken well care of.

Love,
Miriam & Family

Day 4, Update 1

2010-04-09T11:41:00.001-07:00

Joy is doing so much better today! She's resting comfortably right now. Her lungs have just about completely cleared up. Her temperature is normal. Her blood gas level is coming back normal, meaning they are going to wean her off of the high flow nasal cannula, and onto a regular nasal cannula. Joy just had both chest drains removed! That should make her a bit more comfortable.

Joy's current hurdles:

1. Blood pressure - Joy is currently on an IV drip to control her blood pressure. They're going to attempt to transfer her to an oral blood pressure medication today. Her blood pressure has constantly been running between 110/85 - 130/90. The doctors obviously are concerned with that.

2. Heart medication - Joy is currently on a IV drip heart medication to help her heart pump after surgery.

3. Pain management - trying to get Joy off of the IV pain management and onto oral pain management.

We'll try and get another update out later. Thanks for all the continued prayers and support, it truly has been amazing to see the Lord work through all of this.

- Damon and Miriam

Day 3, Update 5

2010-04-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

This has been a difficult day for Damon and I. We are both exhausted physically and emotionally.

Joy's been off the sedatives since noon and so has been MUCH more restless. The pain medication seems to wear off frequently and then she starts crying and thrashing about until the nurse gets another dose into her.

The sipap is a huge contraption that is strapped to her head with a hat and squishes up her nose and will occasionally dump a bit of water in. She really really dislikes it, which is understandable.

Thank God, our night nurse came in and decided to change things up. She is putting Joy on a continuous morphine drip which will keep her more comfortable and hopefully she will not wake up in pain. She also had the sipap removed and a high-flow nasal cannula put in which Joy likes so much better (her poor little nose was purple when they took off the sipap). And our nurse has said that we will probably be able to feed Joy tonight. They will start with pedia-lite and then hopefully move to breast milk.

I am so thankful for this lady. She has really seemed to take charge, be proactive, and bring peace to Joy and to us.

I doubt we'll get much sleep tonight as it seems there will be a lot going on with feedings, etc. We had some wonderful helpers up today in the form of Damon's siblings Josh, Melissa, and Shauna (who drove up from California to be here with us). We really appreciate them.

~Miriam & fam

Day 3, Update 4 - Breathing Issues Cont.

2010-04-08T15:35:00.001-07:00

The sipap seems to be working. Joy's CO2 levels are where the docs want them now, so she shouldn't have to be tubed again. She seemed pretty upset for a while there, but they gave her some morphine and she's resting nicely again. They will probably keep her on this breathing machine through the day and either tonight or tomorrow will start weaning her off. Looks like we're gonna have to wait a while longer to hold or feed her.

~Miriam

Videos

2010-04-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

We were instructed to wash Joy's chest with a special soap the night before surgery.

Preparing to remove Joy's ventilation tube.

After her breathing tube was removed, they gave her this medication to break up the phlegm and help her breathe easier.

Daddy caring for Joy. Her rattly breath is normal.

Day 3, Update 3 - Breathing Issues

2010-04-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Joy is having some trouble breathing for several reasons - phlegm build-up, swollen airway, sleep-inducing medication and carbon dioxide still swimming around in her body, etc. The doctors are attaching a "sipap" which they call a non-invasive ventilator which will help her breath easier. Hopefully things will continue to improve this way. If they don't they will have to put the ventilator back in.

~Miriam

Day 3, Update 2 - Ventilator Removed!

2010-04-08T12:34:00.001-07:00

Joy just had her ventilator tube removed and is doing great! She sounds really phlegmy right now due to fluid and swelling that formed around the breathing tube, but they have given her some steroids to help with the swelling and are periodically suctioning out her airway. They are going to wait for four hours before deciding if she can eat on her own or not. It will depend on if they think she can swallow and breathe at the same time. She has also had her Foley catheter removed (which was emptying her bladder), and we are using only diapers. Hopefully in a couple of hours we'll be able to hold her!
Please be praying that she continues to improve and that she'll be able to eat as soon as possible. We want her to get that nutrition!
Love,
Miriam & Family

Day 3, Update 1

2010-04-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. Joy is doing really well today, she's still on the vent, but they plan on extubating her today! Even on the vent right now, she is breathing on her own. All the nurses have said that she is a stubborn/feisty little girl; any time they touch her to move her or check a line, she clenches up and starts holding her breath... scary, but kind of funny...
We'll try to post another update later once they've removed the tube.
Thanks,
-Damon

Day 2 Update

2010-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Joy has finally started to pee! Also, the doc has started to wean her off the ventilator. Hopefully tomorrow they'll be able to remove it completely. We've been told that if they can get her off the ventilator they will be able to start feeding her by mouth which will help her to heal faster. It's also possible (though probably a long shot) that Miriam might be able to breast feed! It will depend on how Joy is swallowing and if her tubes are in the way.

Other then that, there's not much news to report. Miriam and I have spent most of the day just staring at the monitors and talking to Joy.

One last thing, if anyone decides to send balloons, they'll need to be Latex free, otherwise they wont be allowed in the PICU.

Thanks again for all the prayers!

-Damon

Pictures

2010-04-07T13:27:00.001-07:00

Critically Stable

2010-04-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, where to start... Last night was rough for Mir and I for obvious reasons... With all the monitors beeping, the traffic in and out, it was hard to get any real restful sleep.

The hope was that Joy would be able to have the breathing tube removed today and that they would start to wake her up. That will not likely happen until tomorrow or the day after now. Last night Joy had a few spells where she started to "de-sat" meaning that her oxygen levels started to drop down to around 70% to 90%, this mostly happened when they would move her and wake her up so to speak. The ICU doc thinks that it's being caused by the swelling that's going on in her chest, making it uncomfortable for her to take the deep breaths she should be taking. Also, last night Joy's urine output dropped, she is now storing up quite a bit of fluid, her face is pretty swollen right now. One concern with this is that if they remove the breathing tube she could potentially drown in the fluid she has built up. They will be starting her on Diuretics today to get her to pee out all the excess fluid. Lastly, I think, Joy has developed a bit of a temperature. The nurse just gave her some Tylenol to bring that down, she said its pretty common with this type of procedure.

We will try and post another update soon, if anyone needs to get a hold of us our cell phones will not work as we can't have them on in the PICU. Our room number is 20, and the direct line is: 503-346-0120.

Thanks again for all the prayers.
-Damon

Up....Then Down... Up Again

2010-04-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

It's 6:505pm, Miriam and I are back in Joy's room after a bit of a scare... The doc's had to do emergency surgery to patch up a hole in her aorta. The hole was causing a bit of bleeding as well as fluid build up around her heart. The fluid build up caused her Blood Pressure to become very unstable. The doc's kicked us out of her room and were able to do the surgery right there in the PICU. She now looks much better; the pink has returned to her skin and all her vitals seem to be within the normal limits. Thank God for that.
Thanks for all your continued prayers, we'll try and post more updates later.
Thanks again,
-Damon

Surgery Day

2010-04-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am going to backtrack here a bit. I wanted to post the happy news as soon as possible, now I'm going to post the rest of the updates from the day of the surgery starting in the morning.

Surgery Day

Posted 1 day ago

The day has arrived. Miriam and I just said our good bye's and sent Joy back to get prepped for surgery. Between now and 9am they will be putting in a: Arterial IV, two regular IV's, a IV in her Corratec, and a breathing tube. all this should take about 1.5hrs, around 9 am they will start the actual surgery. Please keep our little Joy in your prayers, as well as the family.
Thanks,
-Damon

Surgery Day Update 2

Posted 1 day ago

Surgery started at 9:30am... the surgical staff said she went to
sleep with a smile on her face.
(Miriam here - actually what I was told was that before she went to sleep she was "smiling and charming the surgical staff". That's my girl!)

Joy's Room

Posted 1 day ago

Joy will be room 20 in the PICU, on floor 8 at Doernbecher.

(Miriam here again - they actually gave us the biggest room in the unit! We have a lot of room to spread out. the bed is a little cramped, but Damon and I managed to share without too much discomfort.)

Surgery Day Update 3

Posted 1 day ago

Joy is on bypass, the surgeon is about 1/3 of the way through
repairing the heart. the next update should be between noon and
1:30pm

Surgery Day Update 4

Posted 1 day ago

Joy is off the bypass machine, they are done with all the repairs. the surgeon and team are watching to make sure there's no bleeding, and watching to make sure that her body accepts the heart changes fine. They'll be watching her for the next 45min to 1hr, then they closer her up and we should be able to see her about an hour after that.

To continue the timeline, see: Success!! and then Urgent Prayer Request.

Urgent Prayer Request

2010-04-06T15:41:00.001-07:00

Urgent Prayer Request: Joy is having excess bleeding - if it doesn't stop within the hour they are going to open her back up and look for leaks. Is is SO hard to see her bloodied and full of tubes and wires. Please be praying for us and especially for Joy. Thanks.

Success!!

2010-04-06T14:19:00.001-07:00

Damon and I just spoke to Joy's surgeon. He told us the surgery went as well as it could possibly go (yay!). He patched the hole in her heart, cleared away some of the muscle that was blocking the pulmonary valve and opened up the pulmonary artery. She also got to keep her own pulmonary valve which is a huge praise! Apparently her valve has 2 leaflets (normal is 3) that were stuck together at the opening, which the surgeon separated. Her heart is back to it's normal heart rhythm (no pacemaker needed!) and she tolerated the surgery "very nicely". In fact, the surgeon thinks that her ventilator will be able to come out tomorrow (as opposed to 3+ days)! He is expecting her heart to be stiff for a few days and it has to work a bit harder to pump but it will go back to normal in a while.

Thank you all for praying! We will still be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks; now hoping her recovery goes as well as the surgery!

Praise God!!

Helping Out - Update

2010-04-03T14:42:00.001-07:00

People are still asking about helping out, so here is what's going on now:

1. Unfortunately, Joy is supposed to be practically quarantined until surgery on Tuesday, so I can't really use any helpers/cuddlers unless you are SURE you're healthy and have been nowhere near anyone who has been sick in the past week or so. Even with that, Isaiah and Damon are both under-the-weather, so I'm not sure she should even be in the main part of the house with them. :P

2. My aunt Ruth is keeping Isaiah at least for the first couple of days. Hopefully Joy will be out of the ICU in about 3 days or so, and then Damon will be able to come home to sleep and look after Isaiah at night, though we will still need child care during the day. Volunteers would be welcome! I'm thinking we'll need someone on Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday, though I am just guessing as we won't know more until we see how Joy is recovering.

3. My grandmother is taking the dogs while we are gone, but she'd be happy to pass this privilege on to someone else! :) Please let me know ASAP if you are willing to puppy-sit!

4. Many people have been offering up meals and we are SO grateful! The Women's Bible Study group at Newberg Friends Church are, I think, planning to put together a schedule of meals for us. Not sure exactly who is in charge, but I'm gonna recommend you contact Liiza Boyd (glboyd@onlinenw.com) or Michelle Akins (michelle@newbergfriends.org) to get on the list. I told Liiza, the foods we'd like to avoid are walnuts, pecans, and bell peppers. Other than that - all's good!

5. Also, women from the NFC WBF are putting together a "team" to bomb the house (I love writing that). Again, I'm gonna suggest you contact Michelle (michelle@newbergfriends.org) or Sarah Sommerville (sommerville4@comcast.net) if you're interested in helping out that way. I'm sure they could use some more hands.

I can't thank everyone enough. People have been SO generous with their time, energy, and resources! Our family is feeling so blessed right now and knowing there are people out there caring for us will take such a HUGE load off of our shoulders while we are in the hospital caring for our precious baby. Thank you so so so so much!

Much love,
The Ellis Family

To Mend A Broken Heart

2010-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

The care team at Doernbecher provided us with this very helpful book which details what will happen before, during and after Joy's surgery. Check it out! To Mend a Broken Heart

Urgent Prayer Request

2010-04-03T10:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday while at Doernbecher we met with Joy's surgeon and his PA who basically told us to keep Joy quarantined until surgery on Tuesday because we do NOT want her getting sick before then. Unfortunately, BOTH Damon and Isaiah are feeling yucky this morning. Damon is devastated. It would be too cruel for him not to be able to hold Joy before the surgery, as we will not be able to hold her for days afterward. We're also a bit worried because he was holding her a lot yesterday. So Joy and I are now literally quarantined to the bedroom. Damon is taking "sambucus shots" and lots of vitamin C to try to get better quickly. Please, please be praying that both Damon and Isaiah feel 100% QUICKLY and that nothing is passed to Joy. We can't afford to have surgery delayed at this point.
Thank you all again.
~Miriam & Family

Quote O' The Day

2010-04-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Me: "Why....why, why, why would you bring a dead armadillo into Fred Meyers?"
Bud: "April Fools?"
Me: "Good point."

BTW, the guy we saw carrying the dead armadillo into Fred Meyers look exactly as you'd expect a guy to look who was carrying around a dead armadillo... like his cousin is also his mother.

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-03-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

"HeyAuntieRuthdoyouseewhatIlooklike?Ilooklikeapolice.seemyhandcuffs?heylookaclock.whydoestheclockhaveafouronit?doyouwanttowatchmytractormoviewithme?ithasbulldozersonit.Iliketoplaywiththedogs.seeIcanbeapuppy!ruffruffruffruff!Icanscarethecat.hereImogen!...."

Ways to Help

2010-03-31T18:43:00.001-07:00

In general, I'm one of those fiercely independent people who hates asking for help, however - and maybe it's because it's 5:00 am and I'm functioning on less than 3 hours of sleep - I am at the point where I am totally willing to accept any offered help. So, we thank those people who have generously offered. Please read on for specific needs.

1. Joy has been extremely restless and needy the past couple of days (and nights). Damon says this is possibly a side effect of her low oxygen levels. That said, I have been getting very little rest lately (as noted above). So anyone interested in some Joy cuddles is welcome to come over to give me a chance to nap or get things done around the house.

2. Childcare for Isaiah. Damon has said that he plans to spend (at least) the week after Joy's surgery at the hospital with us, so I know we will need someone to watch Isaiah for at least a week, possibly longer depending on Joy's recovery. I've had lots of offers from people to take Isaiah, which doesn't surprise me because he's an awesome kid, so what I need to do at this point is put together a schedule of who will be watching him when, and I'll post any holes in the schedule here for people to fill in. Check back for updates.

3. Doggy-sitting (and possible cat-sitting, though you'll definitely want your own litter box). We'll need someone to take the dogs for the time that we're at the hospital. We can provide food, a one-dog sized kennel, and leashes and things for anyone willing to take them. If we can't find doggy sitters, we'll need to board them. Donations toward this cause will be gratefully accepted. My sister works at a doggy day care in Sherwood which I will call in the morning to get an estimate on boarding from. Check back for updates.

4. Meals. People have been asking if we'll need food, and the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking it would be wise of me to accept any meals offered. We really don't have any idea at this point what Joy's recovery is going to look like; how much healing she's going to do at the hospital and how much care she will need at home. So, not knowing if I'll have the time or energy to make meals for the family, I'd love to accept any offered.

5. Here is the biggie: Our house needs to be bug-bombed. It just does. And Damon and I have not yet had a chance to get around to it. It occurred to me last night that this would be the perfect time to get it done - while the house is empty for a week. The thing is, obviously, we would not be able to do it ourselves. I realize this is a HUGE favor to be asking as it involves a LOT of work (I know all textiles (bedding, etc.) would have to be washed). If anyone is willing to do this for us, please let me know. We would be forever indebted.
This is all I can think of at the moment. If you'd like to volunteer for any of these things, please leave a comment below and/or give me a call (my cell # is: 503-476-4041). Also, check back for updates as we may be adding to this list.

Thank you SO much to everyone who has offered to help out. We have the best family and friends around and we love you all!

~Miriam & Family

Joy's Doctors

2010-03-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

Here is some info on the doctor who will be performing Joy's
surgery:
Dr. Langley

And her cardiologist:
Dr. Carlson

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

2010-03-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

(Overheard on the monitor): "I'm a gingerbread man!....You're a monster!"

March 29, 2010 - Direct Blood Donation Details

2010-03-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

We know people have been wondering how to help and/or donate blood for Joy - we now have some details for you!

As is turns out, Joy is AB+ (POSITIVE). Not sure why I thought it was negative. I'm chalking it up to pregnancy brain (yes, I'm still using that excuse).

This means that she can accept any blood type for donation, HOWEVER, there are types that are better for her. Here is a list in order of best match to least:

1. AB+
2. AB-
3. A+ or B+
4. A- or B-
5. O+
6. O-

We will need 2 donors - one will just give red blood cells, one will give red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma (FFP).

There are 2 appointments available for someone to donate the red blood cells ONLY and they are:
TOMORROW - March 30th at 11:00am in Salem
475 Cottage Street Northeast
Salem, OR 97301-3825
Contact Peggy at (503) 280-1443

and

Thursday - April 1st at 1:00pm in Vancouver
5109 NE 82nd Ave
Vancouver, WA 98662
Contact Peggy at (503) 280-1443

There is only ONE appointment available for the person donating the red blood cells and plasma and that is:

Friday - April 2nd at 12:00pm in Portland
3131 North Vancouver Avenue (I think)
Portland, OR
Contact Peggy at (503) 280-1443

First off, it is IMPERATIVE that the donors be HEALTHY. If you're feeling even a little bit ill, PLEASE don't offer - we'd rather use the hospital's stuff that risk getting Joy sick.

Donors will also need to be able to provide proof of their blood type. There are several ways this can be done:
1. If you're already a Red Cross donor & have a card - you're good to go.
2. You can go to a Red Cross office to be typed. There is a $35 charge for this and the results are delivered the next day.
3. You can get typed at your doctor's office, but you MUST let them know that results are needed the next day. Not sure if there is a charge for this.
4. If you have recently had major surgery or given birth, your hospital will have your blood type information and you can call them to get this. I'm assuming they'll need to fax the info to the Red Cross. Peggy at (503) 280-1443 can tell you how to do this.

There is a $45 charge to donate blood. We have had multiple offers from friends and family to cover these costs, so if you are able to donate but don't have the money, please let us know. The cost will be taken care of.

As an aside, neither Damon or I are able to donate, though we'd like to.

PLEASE give us a call ASAP if you are able to and would like to donate.

If you are not able to donate to Joy, you can always donate to the Red Cross at a later time, in Joy's name, for other children facing similar circumstances. Please see The Red Cross' website for more info: http://www.redcrossblood.org/

Again, thanks for all the prayers and support!

~Miriam & family

March 25, 2010 - Plans for Surgery

2010-03-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

I got a call today from a nurse at Doernbecher with a lot of information regarding Joy's upcoming surgery - still scheduled for April 6th.

I'll try to break this down so that it all makes sense...

First off, Damon and I are looking into donating blood for the surgery. Found out today that I, at least, am not eligible as I've given birth in the last three months. We still need to find out if Damon will be eligible with his current and long-term medical issues. That said, we have also gotten offers of blood from friends and family. There is a $95 fee per unit donated, which is refunded by insurance, but which we have to pay up front. We were told she will need 2 units of red blood cells (good for 21 days after donation) and 1 unit of platelets (good for 5 days after donation). This means, of course, that surgery would have to be performed no longer than 5 days after donation in order to use our product. And, if it turns out that she needs more than 2 units of blood, the hospital will have to provide it from their bank. We're still trying to decide if all this is worth it. That said, I will be taking Joy into the hospital here in town tomorrow (3/25/10) to have her blood drawn and type tested.

Now, her appointment on April 2nd is basically a "pre-surgery" appointment; we'll be meeting with all the doctors who will be involved with the surgery and she will be sedated for a four-hour echo-cardiogram to fully check out everything in her little body to make sure she can handle the surgery and that there won't be any other issues, as well as to get a better idea of what will have to be done during surgery. This will be a LONG day. We have to be at Doernbecher at 8:00 am to meet with the doctors; at noon they will numb her hands to put in the IV and she will have the echo at 1:00. In addition to all this, I will only be able to breast feed her until 9:00 am, she will be able to have pedia-lite until 11:00 am, but nothing after that. I am SO not looking forward to this day.

As far as the surgery itself goes, it is still scheduled for April 6th. We have been told to bring comfortable clothes for ourselves and things that will be familiar to Joy. We will be able to join her one hour after the surgery and stay with her at all times after that. I will not be able to hold her to nurse for a while, so the hospital will provide pumps for me. However, we have been warned that she may have trouble swallowing and might need a feeding tube. Also not fun. I will be provided with free meals at the hospital because I am responsible for feeding Joy. Damon will have to purchase meals there. It was suggested that we have family come to support us as everyone will be focused on Joy. Apparently Damon and I will need support also, go figure. Isaiah will be allowed to come visit us in the hospital. They obviously have wonderful facilities for kids and I imagine he'll be jealous that he's not staying there himself. We will be given a children's book explaining heart surgery which will be nice for Isaiah and which we can save for Joy later.

As of right now, we have not made plans for childcare for Isaiah. I haven't asked her yet, but I imagine my aunt Ruth will most likely be taking Isaiah at least for a couple days. We also have friends and church members who have offered to keep him.

And last but not least, I have been asked to make it known that if anyone chooses to bring balloons, they MUST be latex-free.

I think that's all for now, but I feel that I've been overloaded with information and some things may be missing.
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We will really be needing it in these upcoming days.

~Miriam

March 19, 2010 - Surgery coming up...Maybe...

2010-03-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today at Joy's doctors appointment we found out that Dr. Carlson, Joy's cardiologist, has tentatively scheduled Joy for a Sedated ECHO on April 2nd, and Bypass Surgery for April 6th. It all hinges on the doctor's appointment we have set up for March 31. If at that appointment Joy's o2 levels are 95% or lower, then we will go ahead and commit to those days. Obviously this is very nerve racking news, but it will be a relief when all this is done and over with.
Please pray that the Lord puts GOOD doctors in our path, and that Joy makes a quick recovery. Also, for wisdom, & strength for Miriam and I as we get ready to go through this.
Thanks,
-The Ellis Family

March 15, 2010

2010-03-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Joy in for her 9 week baby appointment; she was due for her shots and a check up. I asked the doctor to check her O2 sats because earlier in the day I noticed Joy's lips looking very blue. The doc said that her sats where running around 92%. Thats a pretty big drop from two weeks ago when she was at 100%, but the cardio doc did tell us that she would jump around.
Joy will have another cardio appointment on Friday.
Thanks for all the prayers!

February 26, 2010

2010-03-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Today I took Joy up to Doernbecher for her second echocardiogram. Damon wasn't able to go as he was waiting to be released from the Newberg hospital after a week long stay there for his health issues.
First off, the ECHO showed that the heart's muscle wall in Joy's right ventrical is a bit thicker. The heart muscle will continue to thicken up until Joy has surgery. The blood flow hasn't changed, meaning the un-oxygenated and oxygenated blood are still mixing together and flowing. Joy's heart valves and pulmonary arteries have grown. We're not really sure what that means, we're assuming that it's normal growth.
The Cardio doc has decided to start seeing us every 3 weeks rather then 2 weeks at this point, that will be a nice change!
Thanks again for all the prayers!
- The Ellis Family

February 12, 2010

2010-03-29T22:52:00.001-07:00

Joy had a Cardio appointment up at Doernbechers today. Her sats where 100% today, while thats good, the doc says that they will fluctuate quite a bit and she will still need surgery. The doc has scheduled a ECHO for 2/26, hopefully we'll have a better idea of how her condition is progressing.
Thanks for all the prayers!
-The Ellis Family

Tetralogy of Fallot

2010-03-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

At her 2 week doctor's appointment, Joy's pediatrician heard a heart murmur and recommended we take her up to Doernbecher Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist and have it checked out. After a full day of tests and scans and one very unhappy baby, it turns out that Joy has a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. It is apparently the most common of heart defects and on a scale of very minor to very serious, Joy falls somewhere in the middle. What this means for us is that Joy will have to have a pretty major heart bypass surgery in the next few months. The doctors would like Joy to grow as much as possible before the surgery, so they will be keeping very close tabs on her oxygen saturation levels. If they dip too low, that will be our cue that surgery will need to be done. We've been told that she'll need to be in hospital for 1-2 weeks. And though the surgery has very high success rates, it is still a very scary thing for us and not something we want our precious baby to have to go through. Please keep Joy and our family in your prayers.

To keep up with the latest info regarding Joy, please visit her Care Page.

Joy Luise Ellis

2010-03-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

Born 1/10/10, 7:30 PM 7lbs 1oz, 20" Mother & Baby doing fine. Father last seen with big goofy grin on his face.

Pictures can be seen and downloaded here.

40 Weeks!

2010-01-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

At our last appointment we were told that I was 90% effaced and 3cm dialated. I've been having painless contractions, but nothing significant. It's just a waiting game now, I suppose.

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. The biggest part of your baby's body is her head, but her still-pliable skull will give it the flexibility necessary to squeeze through the birth canal. Many parents are surprised by how long and sharp their newborn's nails are from the get-go. Clipping them right away (ask a nurse for help) can prevent your baby from scratching her face.

39 Weeks Down...

2009-12-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

And still pregnant! Our official due date is one week away, but we're REALLY hoping she'll come in December (taxes, baby!). Hangin' in there, though not very patiently.

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

38 Weeks Down...

2009-12-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

2 to go! Or less... we've been told she could come any time now and will most likely arrive before Christmas!

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds (not ours! Joy is tiny!) and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old.

News...

2009-12-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Had my 35 week drs appointment today. I will now be going in every week until Joy comes. Though I was told they would start checking my cervix this week, that didn't happen (thank God!). Dr. Nan did ask if she could schedule an ultrasound. She thinks that Joy is tiny, and she wants to see exactly how small we're looking at. She said she wants us to know if we need to go stock up on preemie clothes. Not that there's a chance that she'll be premature; on the contrary, she said that small babies usually come late because there's not as much pressure being put on the cervix. She also said that she fully expects Joy to be small considering "what I'm going through" right now. I'm assuming this means that something to do with stress causes the baby's birth weight to be low.

The day is getting close now and there seems to be more and more stuff to do. Things which are NOT getting done because of everything else that is going on at the moment. Here's just a taste:
* Finish Joy's dresser (still need to paint and attach handles)
* Fix the heater in Joy's room (is possibly blocked? no heat is coming from the vent)
* Get another base for the car seat.
* Sew straps back on to baby swing (had to rip them off to wash them)
* Write birth plan (this is what my book is telling me to do. Is this really necessary? Does anyone use them??)
* Pack bag for hospital (when I read the list of things I should have, this becomes SO overwhelming! Several pairs of front-button pajamas? Calming music and aromatherapy?? It even suggests we have a gift ready for Isaiah to ease the transition (older children will like the baby more if they think it's brought them a gift!)).
Not to mention her bedroom is still full of junk, stuff scattered everywhere, not all of it kid-friendly.

If anyone sees something here they'd like to take over - PLEASE feel welcome!!

Name Announcement!

2009-10-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

We've been spreading the word, but have not actually made a formal announcement.

Baby's Name:
Joy Luise Ellis

Week 26 of Pregnancy

2009-09-26T09:29:00.001-07:00

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

Week 25 of Pregnancy

2009-09-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

(The above picture was actually taken at 21 weeks)

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Something a Little Different - Month 5

2009-09-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Fifth Month: You’re Adorable! It Won’t Last

What’s going on up in there?

Baby continues to grow physically, of course, but did you know that he’s also growing mentally in ways your dusty adult mind can hardly fathom? Well, fathom this: while you’re rummaging through your cupboards for those stale lemon cremes you bought that time you got high with your cousin and giggled at a tree for two hours, your baby is busy developing his powers of telekinesis. If, by the end of the month, all your cutlery is hopelessly mangled, you know whom to blame—the unborn wonder inside you!

He can also read your thoughts, so watch it.

Here’s your baby!

Aw.

How you’re feeling

Bigger—or not!

You may be showing more than you had anticipated, or you may be not showing much at all. Either way, everyone’s going to have an opinion about it and only half of them will be wrong.

Horny!

You may start to want to have sex with anything that moves. YOU MUST NOT. This will not do good things for your relationship. Things you can have sex with:

Your husband or partner
Your husband or partner’s life-size replica (preferably constructed with an articulated steel skeleton and flavorless, weapons-grade silicone)

Beyond that, what you do with the small appliances in your home is your business.

If you’re not in a relationship, disregard the above advice and start cruising your church, synagogue, or local drum circle’s singles jamboree. Quick, before you bloat up to freakish proportions. Internet dating is also an option, as you can string along potential dates by email for as long as it takes to lose that baby weight. Do you know how to use Photoshop?

Remarkably good!

This month your nausea is gone, your pregnancy clothes may be surprisingly flattering, food tastes great, and your complexion is smooth and dewy. Enjoy every second! Things will start to suck again before you know it.

It's A.....

2009-08-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!

Second Trimester!!!!! Woohoo!!!!

2009-06-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

Before the textbook update, I thought I'd mention that I'm finally starting to feel better after that god-awful bout of the "yuckies" that had me laid up for a week. My nausea seems to have mostly abated and I'm FINALLY able to eat again! Yay! Now if I could just get in 4 naps a day, I'd feel pretty darn normal! Thank GOD for 2nd trimester!!

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Week 10, Day 5 - ULTRASOUND!

2009-06-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Our first ultrasound took place this week and we found out a few things. Most interestingly, that we are a bit further along than we thought. Baby's new due date is January 2nd! So now my "weeks" are beginning on Sunday. June 14 = week 11! But most importantly, Jr. is healthy (and cute)!

Isaiahisms

2009-06-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Isaiah brought me a "bouquet" of flowers he had picked from the weeds in our yard. He handed them to me and said, "I picked you some flowers! Do you want to plant them in the yard?"

Today Isaiah came to me and said, "I dropped my shoe in the toilet." He was wearing both shoes. He took me to the scene of the crime, and sure enough, there was a flurry of dirt and grass floating around in the toilet. Then I noticed there were other "floaties." Apparently the shoe dunking was an afterthought.

Week 9 of Pregnancy

2009-06-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Chances are you've never felt so tired in your life and for good reason: Your body is working overtime preparing for motherhood as it develops the placenta, your baby's lifeline. At the same time, your metabolism and hormone levels are surging, which triggers a decrease in blood sugar and blood pressure. The result of all this: pregnancy fatigue. Relief is around the corner as your energy level increases (and morning sickness decreases) over the next few weeks once placenta construction is completed. Your baby, now the size of a green olive, has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form, so while he might not be ready to pump iron, he's gearing up to move his arms and legs. It's still too soon to feel anything in your belly, but you might be able to hear something at your next checkup. Try listening for your baby's heartbeat via a Doppler device — that welcome sound should be audible anytime now.

On a personal note - we get to have our first ultrasound next Thursday! Yay!

Week 7 of Pregnancy

2009-05-18T13:46:00.001-07:00

Right now, the only things growing faster than your baby's brain may be your tingly, achy breasts.

Your baby is now about the size of a blueberry (and about 10,000 times bigger than he was at conception). Most of that growth is concentrated in the head as new brain cells are generated at the rate of 100 per minute. Your baby's mouth and tongue are forming as arm and leg buds sprout, and those little kidneys are getting ready to do their job (pee production and excretion).

January 6th, 2010 (approximately )

2009-05-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

Adoption Finalization!

2009-02-19T17:15:00.000-08:00

Isaiah's adoption was finalized December 4th at the Yamhill County Courthouse. The entire family (or those who were in the area) showed up to lend support and celebrate with us. That morning, when asked what he was going to do today, Isaiah responded, "I'm going to adopt mommy and daddy!".

Can open, worms everywhere....

2008-11-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Today I figured out why my toothbrush has always seemed a little more wet than it should be....Isaiah's been using it.

quick update

2008-10-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Well Miriam and I have good news, NO Miriam's not pregnant... but, we are VERY close to having Isaiah's adoption finalized! yea! we have everything done, all we are waiting on is our adoption lawyer to call us up with a date to go into court and get the judges blessing.

On that note Miriam and I are starting up the process to adopt another child!:) We really want to adopt a newborn and are going to look at adopting internationally. We have been looking at a few different adoption agencies as well as looking for grants to fund the adoption.

Anyway, that's the news! Please keep us in your prayers as we start this journey once again.

-Damon

Ummm...yea.

2008-10-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

courtesy of Fail Blog.

In Which We Can Take No More

2008-09-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears that there is one, yes ONE follower of this blog. That's okay. I surely didn't expect people to stick around through months like April and August when there was no posting whatsoever. There is only so much waiting one can take, and I understand this. So from now on, I will be directing all posts to my dad, and whatever weirdo manages to get here by googling some variation of "poopy bath water" (welcome!).

So, dad, remember when I was telling you yesterday about the glorious hour of "free time" I was going to get to myself, sans kid and husband? Well, this is what I did, you know, instead of reading, soaking in a bath, lounging outside, vegging in front of the TV with something lovely like "As Time Goes By":

And one hour turned into one hour yesterday and four hours today. The biggest challenge (which I didn't get any pictures of, unfortunately) was getting all of the baby powder out of the toy chest and off of EVERYTHING. Yes, I know it's been over a month since the Powder Incident. OH WELL. What? I didn't post about the Powder Incident here? Well then, this is long overdue:

His toy chest was absolutely full of pieces from various toy sets like puzzles, army men, crayons, leggos, and Mr. Potato Head. And as I was in my kitchen, cleaning the powder off these various elements, I had an idea. A very very good, I-felt-almost-like-an-evil-genius, idea. Behold, my anal-retentiveness asserting itself:

(The most pathetic part about this picture is that I spent a good three minutes trying to find a clean surface to take this picture on. I finally broke down and cleaned the coffee table. A little peek into the disaster that is our house)

Now, the only problem with this idea, is finding enough containers for all-the-crap. I'm not ashamed to say I even used an old fish bowl. Mr. Potato Head is mighty comfortable, if not a little embarrassed.

I did try to get Isaiah involved in the process as much as possible (what are kids for if not to DO YOUR WORK?) and finally, FINALLY it was done. Cue the "chorus of angels" music:

Now, feel like coming over and doing my room??

Be a Follower!

2008-09-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I just found out about a new and fun tool for blogger, and added it over there - on the right. I'd love to see who is following our blog (and honestly, the more people I find that follow, the more motivated I might be to update more frequently)! So go ahead, and let us know that you read, and I might even send you a stick of gum.

Love,
Us

Bill Cosby............Grandparents

2008-09-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Isaiah Update #Ohhhhh, whatever

2008-07-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Hi! You're right, I didn't get your first email.

Isaiah has been good! I FINALLY finished his bedroom and it is cute as anything! I'll have to send some pictures.

We've been keeping cool by playing in the sprinkler and swimming pool. Isaiah was VERY hesitant to go in the sprinkler at first, but quickly warmed up to it when he went through with people who would lift and swing him over the sprinkler. Then he wanted to go Again! and Again!

In June my father's side of the family was here (from as far away as Maryland, Texas, and California) for a family reunion. Isaiah really enjoyed all the time he got to spend playing with my cousins kids (who he calls his cousins)! More recently, my cousin (on my mother's side) returned from Kenya with his family. They have a son who is very close in age to Isaiah and they also have lots of fun playing together.

A couple weeks ago we went and had a meeting with a speech therapist with Willamette ESD. We found out that Isaiah is normal or above average in every area except his pronunciation. To help him with this, we have registered Isaiah for classes which will be held once a week, for two hours, starting in September. The class is in Newberg and he will be with other kids in a regular pre-school type setting, only the "teacher" is also a speech therapist, and he will be getting one-on-one time with another therapist each week to help him with his speech. We are very excited. The class sounds wonderful and I know he's going to have so much fun and will be learning a lot.

We got a puppy this weekend! He's a Boston Terrier and is 10 weeks old. So far Isaiah seems pretty indifferent. He's been there, done that, and it's just another dog. Oh, well. We are loving him. He's so cute and playful. Maybe with a little more time Isaiah will feel like playing with him more.

And for the last of the big news: Damon got a job! It's with the City of Newberg as an IT specialist. It's a great position with awesome benefits, and the added perk of being only a couple blocks from our house. He'll be making much more than I am now, which means I can come home from work and be a stay-at-home-mom, which is what we have both wanted for a long time. I'm really looking forward to it, and finally learning to cook! :) Damon will be starting this new job on the 21st.

We will be out of town this weekend at the beach, but I'm sure we'll talk to you soon.

Hope you're doing well and staying cool in this hot weather!

~ Miriam, Damon, Isaiah, Stella, and Simon!

Hello World….. Meet Simon the Bruce Ellis

2008-07-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

As Requested: The Official Isaiah-to-English Dictionary

2008-06-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

Abeedeence: Ambulance

Ahdoe: Water

Beedu: Thank you

Beezin: Megan

Bo: Ball

Bobo: Marble

Botobytoto: Motorcycle

BydoBydo: Firefighter

Cho-ohs: Cherios

Damba: Grandpa or Grandma

Doe: No

Dooee: Julie

Eeeng: Orange

Hanseem: Hansom

Hes: Yes

Hips: Chips

Hiss: Sit

Hoat: Walt

Hosa: Salsa (used to be hoha, which I liked much better. Ah, they grow up so fast)

Hots: Socks

I uhzoo: I love you (my favorite!)

Ohfeedink: Elephant

Peeeeeez: Please

Teezbozo: Cheeseburger

Tehwa: Stella

Tuss: Truck

Yoda: Lola

(We will add to this as we get the chance)

New Toy! and Message to Lola:)

2008-05-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

Miriam and I just got our new toy and decided to send Lola and Grandpa Walt a message with it from Isaiah:) Enjoy!

In case you've been wondering what's been going on here lately...

2008-05-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Homestudy update!

2008-05-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief… we have NOT fallen off the face of the earth… or given up on this blog…

Mostly what’s happened is we’ve run out of energy to write. Let me explain… when Miriam and I first started this blog, we were both sooo excited to tell everyone about all the cute & funny things Isaiah was doing and all of our new experiences we were having. Hahaha…. yea, that’s gotten old. :) Miriam and I now look forward to three things: Nap time, Thursdays when I work down at the station, and early in the morning when Isaiah first wakes up and says “gooood morning” but only that; from that point on he doesn’t stop talking! :) Yes yes yes, we both still love Isaiah. I know there's probably one or all of you out there thinking that we’ve gotten in over our heads and we’ve finally realized it. Even though we don’t write about it EVERY day we still love parenting just as much as ever.

On to the big news! Miriam and I just found out that our Home Study has been accepted! Now we were never really worried about failing this, but it's still a very stressful part of the process. Basically all that’s left is to finish filing the papers with the courts! We have decided to go in and have a courtroom ceremony. We are looking forward to this. In other news, Isaiah has finally graduated from being a sweet little boy who obeys everything we say without question to being the type of boy who takes sport in seeing how long it takes Miriam and I to have an aneurysm.

Before:

Dad: Isaiah can you pick up your toys?
Isaiah: Yes daddy, can I also clean up the rest of the house?
Dad: Sure! By all means, in fact I think I left my shoes on the floor!
Isaiah: Thank you daddy!
Mom: DAMON! Pick up your own shoes!

After:

Dad: Isaiah Can you pick up your toys?
Isaiah: …..No…
Dad: Isaiah please pick up your toys?
Isaiah:….No…
Dad: Pick up your toys, or you're going to go in time out…
Isaiah: I want time out….
Dad: PICK UP YOUR TOYS NOW… (by this time Isaiah has a slight grin on his face due to the vain in my head getting ready to burst)

Q is for Quarantine

2008-03-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

We are sick. Very, very sick. It started with Damon about two weeks ago. I actually came home from work early to watch Isaiah while Damon went to bed to die.

The next weekend I had two pukey boys. Pukey puking boys.

It hit me on Sunday. Hard. I slept all but about 4 hours on Monday. I went into work on Tuesday, still running a 101 degree fever, in order to get payroll out and pay bills. I came home after 2 hours. The next day, I managed to stay for 4 hours. Today - I'm home again.

As it turns out, Isaiah, though he made a miraculous recovery on Monday, has contracted Pink Eye. And an ear infection. Fun.

We like variety in this house.

So far the dog is the only one who had managed to stay healthy. Knock on wood.

We should get hazard pay for this, right?

In Which We Learn To Ride A Bike.

2008-02-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

I’m finding that I don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to teaching Isaiah to do something. I really do feel bad, but I get very frustrated when my three-year-old can't do everything I can do… yes, yes, please pray for my soul. As Miriam already posted earlier, we have given up on potty training, and are now looking into buying stock in pampers. We’re both pretty sure that when Isaiah heads off to college he will have his suitcase full of EZ-ups. Today being such a nice day I decided to finally put together Isaiah’s bike that he got from my brother Josh for Christmas. I was so excited to see Isaiah begin the best years of his life… Bike Riding. The only thing better, is building your own bike and taking it down a steep hill praying to God that the tires don’t fall off. If you think about it, most of a boy’s ingenuity is developed in those years. From defying physics and proving that you can build and successfully jump a ramp stacked on 10 bricks, a rock, and a few good sticks if you ride right down the center, all the way to building your own bike out of what some would call a pile of junk.

After getting Isaiah’s bike put together I took him outside for this historic moment. Isaiah climbed up onto the bike as I sat about ten feet away with the camera ready to catch his first pedal. NOTHING HAPPENED! Excuse me! I thought that sort of thing was ingrained in a kid's head. That’s when Miriam informed me that she didn't learn to ride until she was 13! (that's almost a joke). I can see it now; Walt running full speed behind this teenage girl saying:

Walt: I’m going to let go!
Miriam: NO!
Walt: I’m going to let go now!
Miriam: NO!
Walt: ah screw it, I’ll just teach you to drive a car!

Haha… but seriously, why cant Isaiah ride a bike? Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to wait a few years to teach him how to make a ramp out of unstable objects. At least we have "The Rocket"!

Dancin' With Me Mates

2008-02-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Isaiah has taken a liking to The Wiggles. Miriam is especially happy about this, because she has an emotional attachment to both Australia and The Wiggles. Well, the other day I sat down with Isaiah while he was watching The Wiggles, and a song came on called "Dusty Dance". An Australian named Slim Dusty sang it. After the song was over I jumped on youtube.com to see if Slim Dusty had any other songs out there. In my search for Slim Dusty music I found a called "Duncan". Out of curiosity I listened to it and found it to be the same song as "Dusty Dance", but with slightly different wording…

Dusty Dance - Kids Version (starts at about 2:50)

Duncan – Adult Version (I say "Adult", but it is still G rated)

I don't know, i kind of like the original... what do you think?

Into The Deep End

The Epidermal Benefits of Honey

And We're Back

In Memoriam

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Taking a walk down memory lane...

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day - Catching Up

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

It's All Video, Video, Video...

Dessert! (yummmmm...)

E.D.U.C.A.T.I.O.N.

A Day in the Life of a Mother

Conversation O' The Day

So Far... So, So

G.O.O.D. Update 2 - Month of Meals

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Fun With Joy!

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

They're Here!

G.O.O.D. Update 1 - Cloth Diapering

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Getting (our patooties) Out Of Debt!

Quote O' The Day

Isaiah's take on the crazy rain we're having: "It looks like a carwash outside!"

Isaiah's Funny of the Day

Best Mother's Day Gift Ever!

Sorry for the lack of updates!

Genetic Test Results, etc.

Home - Day 2

Home - Day 1

Going Home!

Day 8 Update

More Problems 2

More Problems...

Day 6, Update 2

Day 6, Update 1

Day 5, Update 1

Day 4, Update 2

Day 4, Update 1

Day 3, Update 5

Day 3, Update 4 - Breathing Issues Cont.

Videos

Day 3, Update 3 - Breathing Issues

Day 3, Update 2 - Ventilator Removed!

Day 3, Update 1

Day 2 Update

Pictures

Critically Stable

Up....Then Down... Up Again

Surgery Day

Surgery Day

Surgery Day Update 2

Joy's Room

Surgery Day Update 3

Surgery Day Update 4

Urgent Prayer Request

Urgent Prayer Request: Joy is having excess bleeding - if it doesn't stop within the hour they are going to open her back up and look for leaks. Is is SO hard to see her bloodied and full of tubes and wires. Please be praying for us and especially for Joy. Thanks.

Success!!

Helping Out - Update

To Mend A Broken Heart

Urgent Prayer Request

Quote O' The Day

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

Ways to Help

Joy's Doctors

Isaiah's Quote O' The Day

March 29, 2010 - Direct Blood Donation Details

March 25, 2010 - Plans for Surgery

March 19, 2010 - Surgery coming up...Maybe...

March 15, 2010

February 26, 2010

February 12, 2010

Tetralogy of Fallot

Joy Luise Ellis

40 Weeks!

39 Weeks Down...

38 Weeks Down...

News...