We're Back...UGH!

Yesterday after taking in Addison to the pediatricians we were readmitted to the NICU. After weighing her at the pediatricians they took her temperature and realized that it was very low. Her initial temp was 96.4 and then they checked it two more times and it was 94.3 and then 95.4. Too low so they called the NICU and they had to readmit her. I know that she is in a good place that can monitor her and that there are worse things that could be wrong, but as a mother your heart breaks when you have to take your child to the hospital to have them stay. They had to place her in a closed isolette where she stayed until tonight. She has done good maintaining her temp so tonight they moved her to an open crib. YEAH! They have run every single test known to man and thank goodness that everything has come back negative and normal!! I am so happy that she is doing so great.

I long to be back at home with the boys and Alan and Addison. We keep saying that this isnt the way it was supposed to be, but God had different plans and he knows what is supposed to be and what we can handle. I am drained though. I want normalcy again and I want my family all under one roof. I want to be able to relax and not worry about what I can't control. I am thankful for all of the prayers that have been lifted up for our family. They have been what has kept us going and the strength when we thought there was none. I am thankful as I look around the NICU that Addison's problems pale in comparison to some of the other babies. There are some that have been there for months and my heart aches for their mothers and fathers. I am thankful that we will get to take our baby home in a few days while they will still have to wait, maybe even months to have their babies at home with them.

I thank God for Addison and her ability to be a fighter and thank you for my family that has been supportive through all of this!

Homeward Bound

     It's official, both Heather and little Addison came home today. The doctor's gave us a 100% USDA Prime rating on our new addition. There is a new sense of calm in the house because the boys know that the baby is "trying to nap" and really needs her rest.

T-minus 5 Weeks and Counting

     Our new addition decided to come out five weeks early on Thursday, March 18th at 8:11pm. Both little Addison Elizabeth and her mom are doing well and recovering nicely at Stone Oak Methodist Hospital. Addison weighed in at 6 lbs 0 oz and was 19 and 1/4 inches long. Here are a few pictures of the little cutie pie.

Entering the world really works up an appetite


All tuckered out


I think I'll just take a little nap


Addison and her big brother Alex


Addison and her big brother Blake

     As of today, Heather has been given a clean bill of health from the hospital but Addison needs to be able to keep up her body temperature before she can come home. We are all hoping that everyone will be deemed healthy and heading home by Monday, but for now Heather is staying at the hospital overnight with her little bundle of joy.

Living and Loving

Friday was my last day of work! I am so excited to be able to have a month and a couple days with the boys to be their mommy full time and focus my attention on them before Addison arrives. We are so excited about her arrival! Only 37 days until my csection and we are all ready to be able to meet her and hold her. The boys are so excited and I love that they love her already and include her in their thoughts and our family plans for the future. I am blessed that they are so loving with each other and are so happy to have a new addition to their lives. I plan on resting now while the boys are in school during the week and trying to get the house in as much order as I can. Mom will be coming up the weekend after Addison is born and will be here for a week and then Alan's mom will arrive a couple days after that. I am looking forward to the help with the baby and with the boys. :) The countdown begins!

End of a year, End of a Decade

What have we been up to this past decade and year? Wanted to do a recap of what we have been doing. I thought that it would be a pretty quick one, but I was wrong. We have been busy and it has flown by.

May 2000 Alan proposed to me and I of course said yes.

May 2001 One month before our wedding I found out I was pregnant...oops! No biggie since we were already getting married, but still we had to go through with permission from our pastor and hoped that he would still marry us.

June 16, 2001 we are hitched. We were married at Randolph AFB in San Antonio Texas at a small chapel. Such a nice time with a small amount of friends and family.

August 2001 We found out that we had lost our baby. I went through delivery and found out that it was a girl. Her name would have been Katelynn. She is our little angel in heaven that one day I will be able to hold.

February 2002 We try for baby number two and are successful!
Alexander James is born October 2002 via csection due to a LARGE head. God bless my babies and their large heads! They cant help it...when you look at my head and Alans they were doomed from the start.

June 2002 I quit my job at the YMCA to become a stay at home mommy. I love this job of mommy and is one that has no pay but the best benefits in the world. I am thankful that Alan allows me this and am thankful for his willingness to work harder so that we can afford for me to be a mommy.

July 2003 I found out I am pregnant with baby number 2. Blake Alan arrives into this world April 14, 2004.

May 2004 Alan graduates from UTSA with his undergrad in Computer Science.

Our life with two children under the age of two was crazy at this point. They were both in diapers and both still "babies". A lot of life at this point is a blur. We all managed to be fed, clean and happy during a lot of this next year and that's all that really matters!!

Sept 2005 both boys are enorlled in a preschool program for two days a week. I go home and wonder what to do with my time when I have no little ones to watch over. I go to the director and tell her I am lost at home. There is only so much cleaning one can do...ha ha...She tells me that she has an opening and I start my way back in slowly into the world of working. The boys and I go to work and school together now 4days a week, Tuesday thru Friday. They get to interact and play and I get to earn a little money, interact with adults and still see my babies throughout the day. Best of both worlds.

May 2005 I finally graduate with my undergrad in Elementary Education. Considering how many years it took me I should have a doctorate...but hey it's done and I am finished with school...now for the repayment of those student loans....YIKES!

During the rest of this year we contemplate a move. The boys are still young and we decide that it may be good for us to be close to my mom. The only problem is that my mom lives in Mississippi. Thats no problem when you are young and your kids are young though. So we pack up the UHAUL May 2006 and move on up to my moms. MISTAKE! We will put it nicely and say that Mississippi is nothing like Texas. We move back September of 2006. And to say that Gods hand was involved in this is putting it mildly. We move back into the same rental house that we left, Alan goes back to his same job at the UTSA and I go back to my same job at the school. It was like one long extended bad vacation.

June 2006 Grandmother passes away....The heart of our family.


Alex starts Kinder August of 2008 and part of my heart leaves my chest as he walks into that classroom by his self. Hardest thing I have ever done is to trust a complete strager with my childs well being throughout a day.

Blake and I continue on that last year, with just he and I going to the school by ourselves. I cherish that last year with Blake knowing that next year will be his turn to walk into that big school and into that classroom by himself.
Alan and I start talking about babies....should we have another one or not? The answer is yes. We don't start trying but aren't preventing anything from happening either.

March 2009 I start clomid to help with getting pregnant.

April 2009 Granddad passes away...a hard time for us all. My hero is gone. My rock and cheerleader.

May 2009 Alan graduates with a Masters in Management of Technology with a 4.0. I am so proud of him and what he does for our family. He then starts another Masters program and plans to get an MBA now.

July 2009 I decide not to take the clomid anymore due to some bad side effects. I leave it up to God and decide not to worry about it. I am thankful for my two healthy boys that we have and am blessed no matter what happens. Alex also gets his first pair of glasses. He looks so handsome and can see now!

August 2009...The other half of my heart leaves and Blake starts Kinder. Alex is in first and struggles with his teacher until November when we move him. He becomes a new child with his new teacher and flourishes once again. Blake is doing great and LOVES school and his teacher.
This is the month too that I find out that I am pregnant. I guess all that not worrying really worked!

November we find out that we are having a girl! Addison Elizabeth will enter our lives in 2010.

What a year and what a decade. We have had family living with us for most of this year and while challenging at times financially I think the boys have gained something from it. We have showed them that family sticks together and that when someone needs help and you have a chance to help them you should. They have had chances to live with their extended family and get to know them more and vice versa. They will be better people for that one day I hope.

Alan and I have had our struggles. Being married and losing a child in your first couple months of marriage isn't always the easiest. I think it brought us closer in some ways. Then having two children so close together and not having time for each other wasn't the best for a marriage, but we showed that we could do it. God only gives you what you can handle and we showed that he was right. We have had our ups and downs, and will continue to, but I hope that we always remember the reasons why we married. We have been blessed with children and a roof over our heads and jobs that provide security to us and our children. We are grateful! What a year...what a decade!

Its a.....

I wanted to post this so that years from now I remember what the date was etc....but November 23, 2009 we found out that we are having a HEALTHY BABY GIRL! Words cannot even express my happiness in this news. I literally would have been so excited to have another boy, but truly do feel a different sense of happiness with a little girl. I will have a partner in crime now!:) The boys are excited and we talk about her everyday. We have decided to name her Addison Elizabeth. Addison because I have always loved the name and Elizabeth is my moms middle name. She is loved more than words can say already and has a wardrobe going already. I might actually have a small addiction to little pink clothing! :)
We cant wait to meet you little Addison and love you more than you will ever know!

Thankful

I am thankful...
Thankful for my two healthy boys who are two of the best things that have ever happened to me.
Thankful for a new healthy baby girl who will make her debut in April and will soften our lives a little more.
Thankful for a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally.
Thankful for parents and siblings who make our lives fuller.
Thankful for good friends who are there when no one else is.
Thankful for a roof over our heads and for jobs that provide food and necessities.
Thankful for laughter in my house.
Thankful for God and all the Blessings that he has given us this year.
I am thankful!