Those Pearly Whites

Addie is the third born child in our home.  Even though she is third, she is the first to have curly hair. First to play the violin. Now she is first in another thing. We had hoped by the time adult teeth showed up, the problem would self correct, but it hasn't. 

What is she the first at this time, you ask?

BRACES!!!

I know many of you are intimately aware of all the ins and outs of these wonderful contraptions, but this is all new to us. After getting three different opinions, it has been decided that she needs 5 teeth pulled, and braces. This is not something we went into lightly. Braces are EXPENSIVE, especially when our heath insurance does not cover any dental. 

God has been so good to us though. He knew she needed this long before we did. He has been her comfort, as she is nervous about having five teeth pulled. He didn't give her any wisdom teeth, so she won't need to have them pulled later! He laid it upon a family to generously give us almost half of the cost of the braces. We are blown away by their generosity, and God's goodness.

Would you pray with us as we trust the Lord to provide the $3,100 left that we need?

My brave girl.

She lost two baby teeth since this x-ray was taken.

Getting more comfortable with these visits. 

A little glimpse of part of the problem.

This is just a picture of her at her awards ceremony at the end of the year. She is such a smarty pants, and we are very proud of her.

Ain't No Party Like A Mathew Party...

Maybe "party" is too joyful a word for the rough year it was, but we do love to party!

It's been over a year since I have written. So much has happened, that a short recap is about all that will be possible at the time.

In March of last year, Addie's appendix ruptured making her very ill. She had emergency surgery, and even though recovery was a long one, she was able to recover, and for that we are certainly grateful.

Recovering well after surgery.

Right after Addie got better, Jonah got sick. This was so hard to see. We had kept him under preemie quarantine just like we did when Ezra came early, but unfortunately Jonah got sick right away. He came down with RSV and Pneumonia and ended up spending 7 days in the hospital.

Jonah's first Easter.

 Jonah was discharged from the hospital on a Thursday. Friday I was able to go visit my parents. The next morning, my mom passed away from complications from sarcoidosis.  Losing my mother has, by far, been the most difficult thing I have ever had to face.  I am so thankful that God gave me that Friday to see her one last time.  I am thankful that this isn't the end.  My mom trusted in Christ and His death on the cross, and now is with our Savior, and I know I will get to see her again. That brings me comfort when all I want to do is call her on the phone and tell talk with her again.

My dear mom.

We had a good summer last year, and made some good memories with extended family, and just us.

The fall brought new changes. Emma entered high school as a freshman, Josie a 7th grader, and Addie in 5th. I was back into the office learning some new things on Populi, a new program that was implemented at the Bible Institute, and Josh was plugging away with the building and grounds department. In October things came to a screeching halt. Josh got very sick with spinal meningitis. He was hospitalized (and now he was the one in quarantine!) and spent a a few weeks recovering. We are incredibly thankful he recovered so well.  

We are basically quarantine pros at this point.

In November, I needed to have surgery to repair some complications from my last c-section.  It was a longer recovery than I expected, but am glad to be doing fine now.

Overall, 2017 was a bit rough, but there were good things too! Spending more time than usual with family, and so many celebrations. Two milestone birthdays were had in September, and we were blessed with the opportunity to continue to trust God through what seems like impossible circumstances. Isn't our God so good though? I don't know if I could have survived a year like last year without knowing that He was unsurprised by it all, and ultimately in control over what felt like chaos in my life.

Jonah turns ONE!

A little surprise party for Josh who turned 40!

Jonah's Life in the NICU

Jonah spent a total of 40 days in the hospital before he came home. His first two weeks were in the NICU at St. Joseph Mercy.  After I was discharged as a patient there, I was still able to stay in the hospital in what they refer to as "nesting rooms". It was such a blessing to be right down the hall from him, instead of 51 miles away. 

The NICU at St. Joe's are full of wonderful doctors and nurses, and we received the best care, but we wanted to transfer him back to our hospital as soon as he could. I had five other kiddos that needed the stability of having mommy home. I missed them too.

Jonah really was making great strides at St. Joe's, and we are so thankful he had his first start there.

Someone sure loves his daddy!

Such a deep stare. My precious boy!

He was SO tiny. His whole head could fit in my hand.

Peek-a-boo mama!

My Son Jonah

Six months have passed since my sweet Jonah has come into the world, and many more since I have blogged. I do want to finally share about our latest addition. 

Ezra's birth was very difficult and traumatic, which you can read about here and here. When we found out we were expecting Jonah, the doctors monitored me very closely. I had bi-weekly appointments from the very beginning, and starting in August, I was 28 weeks along and placed on complete bed rest, as my blood pressure steadily began to rise. Josh was amazing as always, and took wonderful care of me and the house and kids. We had a lot of help with meals from friends which was a huge blessing. I eventually had to be hospitalized, and once that happened, Josh and I, in agreement with my obstetrician, decided I should be transferred to St. Joseph Mercy where Ezra spent his first few weeks of life. Eventually it was decided that my body could no longer safely keep baby inside, so Jonah Albert was delivered at 32 weeks. He was a week older than Ezra, but weighing 3lbs 6.5oz, he was a little tinier. He needed to be on oxygen longer as well, but overall was a very healthy baby. I never got deathly ill this time, and they took his c-section nice and slow, being sure I was unable to feel anything. It was a good birth, and I am thankful for the wisdom of my doctors on the whole pregnancy and delivery. 

                                    

This was my view for many weeks. 

                    

My sweet boy, getting the best care for his early start.

                   

First time holding the wee one, a few days after birth.

                                

His hands were so small!

JOY!

This year has already brought so much joy.  I can't hardly believe it is already May!  I wanted to share some pictures that make me very happy.

My dear family.  We were just enjoying a lazy Saturday in our jammies.

Josie performed at solo and ensemble and received the highest score she could!

 

These two chuckleheads love each other so very much!

Josie and Emma showing their Art Prize entries. Josie got 4th place in the whole school!

My little warrior scaling the wall of the enemy fortress!

Our nature walk partners at MacCready Nature Reserve.

A beautiful bouquet I was surprised with just because he loves me.

 

Fishing for blue gill with daddy at the NTBI spring picnic.

Last, but certainly not least, our newest little squish. Due to make an appearance this October (and hopefully not any sooner!), we are so thrilled with this gift of life God has entrusted us with! Praise be to Him!

Enjoying the Last of Winter

I started this post a while ago, and just realized I never finished! We have been busy this spring, and I've had a lot on my mind.

I had to share some pictures of this fun time sledding on March 5th. It was Ezra's first time sledding. He had so much fun! I think he liked the snow more than the other kids did at his age.

The very next day, it all melted.

Ezra loved going down the hill!

Emma working on her spin move.

Addie missed the sled! Ha ha!

Josie, the dramatic one, after her wipe out.

I can't tell who is having more fun, Josh or Isaac?

We did this over and over again. He loved it! So did I!



Another Stay at the Hospital for Ezra

It has been a rough winter for our little guy.  Ezra got RSV in December, and then was hospitalized for three days with pneumonia the same month. Last Sunday, he came down with pneumonia again, and had to be hospitalized again.  What can just be a cold to you or me, can turn into something much worse for him.  As a preemie, I knew this would be the case, but I thought maybe we were out of the woods since his first winter he was healthy.

It's hard for many (myself sometimes included) to see my healthy, tall, smart little boy, and remember he was born 9 weeks early. 

He has a clean bill of health now.  I am praying he will stay that way.  Spring is almost here!

Ezra didn't want to be in the crib at all, so he liked to chill out on the big bed.

Although I hate that he had to be in the hospital, it wasn't all bad.  I got sweet snuggles!

He was SO happy to see Daddy!

The day we were discharged, he got to go for a walk. He loved visiting the nurse's station for animal crackers. He never ate them, he just liked carrying them around.

Today Ezra got a clean bill of health from his pediatrician.  We just need to get an x-ray of his lungs in a month to make sure they cleared up.



Adelaide is Nine!

Our youngest daughter, Addie, turned NINE last month!  She is in my mind a perpetual six year old.  I guess this birthday took me as a shock, that she is in fact, getting older! Last year of the single digits for her.

Her birthday was a full one. I had somewhere to be that morning, and she had dress rehearsal for her violin recital. In the evening we had her requested dinner of spaghetti and cupcakes for dessert. My parents were able to come out for the evening.  It was a nice day.

Her violin recital was the next weekend.  She did SO WELL!!! She is really driven to learn the violin.  Never do I have to remind her to practice. Most often I have to say, "You've been practicing all afternoon. Time to get your homework and chores done!"

I am really proud of my sweet little (but not so little) musician. 

Make a wish!

Cinnamon roll cupcakes, by request of the birthday girl!

It was a great performance.

We have a Teenager!

We had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Got to celebrate with almost everyone, and that does my heart so good.

The big news over here in our house now is that we now have a teenager under our roof!

Emma turned 13 earlier this month, and we are just starting to get used to the idea. ha ha!

We have had so many great years already with our sweet girl, and have enjoyed seeing her grow into the Godly young lady she is now.  We both are so thankful for God's gift of her to us.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Emma as a baby. I think she is about 6 months old here.

Here is our little cutie on a camping trip. She is four.

My little spunky girl. This is how I often still think of her, and I am shocked when she walks into a room and seems so old.

My teenager. Oh, how I love her.

Lil' Dude Turns Three!

I can't believe my little man is three! So much of the last year was a blur (I barely remember him turning two) and here he is, THREE!

He has grown so much over the last year. He is officially day and night time potty trained. He has a vocabulary that is out of this world. He is a ball of energy and he continues to keep us on our toes! He is so often a sweet, and loving little boy.  I am so thankful for Isaac!

We had a small celebration of just the 7 of us, but it was nice.

        

Eating his requested birthday dinner: Oatmeal!

Opening presents.

Serious business! (loving the tongue sticking out!)

Papa and Nana got him a Monster Truck!

He was so excited over the sword we got him. He had to go slay some dragons right away!

         

Even though he is such a big boy, he looks so tiny here to me! Make a wish birthday boy!