Feeling full!

Feeling full...full of love, full of joy! And what perfect timing...right around Valentine's day! These past three weeks have been busy and SO much fun! Not busy because we've been doing much out of the ordinary but busy because we have had LOTS of wonderful visitors! My uncle Tom came down to do the electrical work on our new house. And James had already scheduled to take the time off work in Columbia to come down to help. So we just said good bye to the two of them today. But in those three weeks, my dad came down to help two different times, as well as Josh. Emmett even took time off work to come up and help and my grandpa made an appearance to put his electrical expertise to work. Not to mention Preston and his dad. They put in some long days and the boys and I put in some long days at home, trying to keep them all going : )  Everyone sacrificed time with their families, time away from loved ones and jobs, time on the road, and even sacrificed warmth since the first week it was in the teens and twenties. We had a blast and I feel so full of love for our families that are ALWAYS willing to jump in and help out! BUT, I have to say, I'm ready for some GIRL TIME!! I am ready to replace some of the gorry, violent, action movies with sappy love stories and the smelly feet with pedicures : ). But really, I'm not complaining, I would do it all over again! The boys will not know what to do without all the guys here to entertain. I've posted a few of the pictures from our time together. We ended the three week stint with chocolate malts and a trip to the Harley store : )

Some other big news...Carson is now officially fed MORE BY MOUTH than by tube. WAAAHOOOOO!! Simply amazing! A huge answer to prayer. We cut back his feeding again this week. He also had his first chocolate malt with Tom and James. Yes, he fits right in with Poppy and Uncle Josh, he LOVED it! Kellen has hit a growth spurt and grew 3/4" in the past month (Carson grew 1/4") and Kellen has also caught on to the idea of using the potty! He has used the potty multiple times each day for the past 4 or 5 days. I'm not saying we are ready to get rid of diapers but I think this is a huge step in the right direction! We continue to trudge along and are really enjoying the warmer weather!

I scheduled Carson's upcoming surgery/evaluation in Cincinnati for April 9th. We will most likely go up the night before and return the same day of the surgery so no overnight hospital stay : ) As always, I ask for prayers for the team of surgeons that will be evaluating Carson - that they use the utmost care when operating on Carson and that they get the best overall picture of Carson's airway which will lead to the development of the best plan for the coming months/years. I will not stop praying for a complete miracle until the trach and g-button are nothing but memories! Other prayer requests...continued improvements in eating for Carson and continued health for the boys. We have been so blessed this winter season with good health and pray that it continues. Much love to everyone!


Oh, last thing...a funny story about Carson. I was fixing dinner in the kitchen while the boys played. Carson was intent on getting onto his tricycle. The problem was, he had his shoes on and that always makes it a little harder for him as his shoes tend to get stuck and his foot isn't as flexible to slide through different parts. Anyways, I could hear him huffing and puffing a little bit (getting a bit frustrated) because his feet kept getting tangled up and he couldn't get on the tricycle. So I try to TALK him through how to get on the bike (from the kitchen). Well, he gave it one more shot & almost lost his balance. That was his last straw, but instead of simply walking away from the bike...he took that tricycle by the handlebars and tire and shoved it over on its side THEN walked away. I couldn't help but bust out laughing! He showed it!

Our crew the first weekend!

The boys and the UNCLES ; )

more SNOW fun with Aunt RaRa

Our Valentine's morning crew!

Two of the sweetest valentines I could have ever asked for

funny faces!

Cousins!!

Hahaha!

Now, THAT'S alot of wires!

Papa and Daddy hanging can lights!

Grampe working his magic

I think all the guys spent some time up in the rafters (glad no one was scared of heights!)

Fun with Poppy up in the bonus room!

Our electrical crew minus Emmett, Grampe, and Papa

Celebrating with malts (this may have been the third night of celebration ; )!!

Harley dudes! Starting them young...

SNOW Fun!!

Hope these pictures brighten your day! We had a blast! This was the first snow that I had to MAKE the boys go back inside! They had a lot of fun playing in it! Kellen is our new 'snow angel' master and Carson likes to throw snow balls or better yet, just throw snow up in the air : )

Carson has continued to do well with food...I have pureed more meals for him (i.e. chili and spaghetti) that he has done okay with. And he is doing better with chewing some things (mostly small bites of crackers or cheese puffs). We will continue to persevere! Praying that he continues to gain weight. He lost a fair amount several weeks ago but has maintained it since then.

I can't help but laugh when I see this picture...Ready to hit the slopes!

Our mini snowman

Cool dude Carson in our wagon-mobile!

Clarification

Ok, just wanted to clarify...I am NOT pregnant but Aunt Ra-Ra IS. : ) 'Lil' peanut' is what Sarah and Emmett are calling their baby.

Alright...that's all folks.

Everday Miracles!

(I'm knocking on wood, as I type this...) But as of right now, the boys and I escaped the flu - that's our miracle. Preston came down with the flu about a week and a half ago. I was holding my breath for the following week just waiting for one of the boys, or myself, to get sick, praying the whole time that we wouldn't. I went through a giant tub of disinfectant wipes, did 1-2 loads of laundry a day, and stepped up the handwashing : ) Praise the Lord that we all survived...poor Preston, we were afraid the boys would never go near him again. Because we repeated "Stay back, get back, don't touch Daddy" over and over again : ) It got to the point that Carson and Kellen would see Preston or point to the couch that he was on most of the time and say "ick" (for 'sick') as they backed away. : )
Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for Carson and our family. I know many times, they may not be specific prayers but know they are always appreciated!

We also switched the boys' beds to toddler beds a few weeks ago...I guess I have to accept that they ARE growing up : ) They have done really well so far...sleep is one thing that the boys truly appreciate. Kellen has only fallen out twice and I think it was just his feet (but enough to wake him up). They LOVE playing in their beds too. Several times, I have heard them laughing from a different room and I peek in to see what is going on. They will both be in the bed playing with their nerf guns or some other toy of choice.

Carson continues to do well with eating. He lost a little weight but is maintaining it now. We are still working on different textures, flavors, and chewing. He is sleeping so much better now (much less coughing) after we cut out the midnight feeding. We also stopped his Zyrtec and he has continued to do well. I am SO thankful that the boys have been as healthy as they have been this winter. Let's hope the next few months are the same way!

These boys may be in for a rude awakening when lil' peanut arrives : )

A lesson in static electricity!

Playing with Mer-Mer

Happy Birthday Daddy! Last one before the big 3-0!

Sleeping angel.

Not many things are sweeter than this.

Big steps!!

Wow, where did the past month go??? We had a wonderful holiday season spent with family and friends! We made two trips to Rogersville to celebrate Christmas with the Bunch side and then later to celebrate Poppy's and Darrin's birthday. And celebrated with the Clark side in between those trips! Although the boys like their routine, they actually do pretty good when it gets a little off! They made it until 10:45 on NYE and were still functioning the next morning : ) We are so blessed by our families and friends and we have really enjoyed these past weeks! The boys are talking more and more and surprise us with new words every day! I think my favorite is 'Elmo'. We are definitely to that phase of 'it it's quiet...I better go check on them.' I never know what I'm going to find...whether it is the diapers strewn all across the room, toilet paper unrolled, or tampons unwrapped, pulled apart, and scattered throughout the bathroom and bedroom.  But really, they are pretty good most the time and play together well. My favorite is hearing them laugh at each other and chase each other from room to room or chase each other on their tricycles that have been brought inside for the winter : )

We were blessed more than we would ever know when we were chosen to have twins! Not only do they have a built in playmate but it helps us to get Carson's life as 'normal' as possible. I can't imagine life with only a single child.

Other huge praises and steps I didn't know would come this month...Carson's blood work that checks for recurrences of the teratoma came back PERFECT! The chance of having a recurrence at this point is <2%. We don't even have to have those levels checked again unless there is some concern.
AND....drum roll...Carson is no longer 100% tube fed. We have cut back 40% of his tube feeding in the past month! This means that he is replacing those calories with food and milk that he eats/drinks throughout the day. So far, he has continue to do really well and is still gaining weight despite the reduction! Please continue to pray for Carson's eating...he does really well with most pureed foods but anything he has to chew is still a challenge! I have no doubt he will eventually conquer those foods too! Carson and Kellen are now the same height but Carson weighs over 2 pounds more than Kellen. : ) Kellen is not a picky eater, he just isn't a big eater and doesn't find that same enjoyment in food that I do! Please remind me when the boys are teenagers and are eating Preston and me out of house and home, that I once prayed DAILY for the boys to eat! I'm sure I'll need the reminder.

And last, I will be calling to schedule Carson next appointment/evaluation in Cincinnati in the next few weeks. We are looking at the beginning of April. Prayers are appreciated, in advance, for the evaluation and the team of doctors that will be working on Carson. Although this evaluation will require general anesthesia, I believe it is purely for another look at his airway and anatomy. Nothing will actually be removed or changed. As always, I pray for a miracle for Carson's airway, that it will open up with the least amount of reconstruction. And that we will get some good news from this team of doctors. These trips/evaluations are hard for me because since his initial evaluation, the results have not been the most optimistic. It seems like the timeline for decannulation only gets longer AND longer. However, as of now, they have not said anything that leads us to believe Carson would NOT get his trach out eventually. So, we will continue to wait expectantly!

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year! We can't wait to see all the blessings in 2014!

Christmas at Rog

Mini doctors' coats that Nana made : )

Decorating Christmas cookies and eating them at the same time : )

Cousins!

Christmas Eve at Mimi & Papa's!

Storytelling by Meredith! The boys love 'Mer-Mer'

Papa and Mimi with their grandkids!

Ready for Santa to come! The boys were amazed that Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk they left!

Love these boys!

Christmas morning was a success!

What helpers!?!

New Year's Eve!

Love this picture!

The boys had a blast at their first NYE party!

I LOVE this time of year!

Yay for snow!!! It just topped it off...I love Christmas time, especially when we have lots and lots of snow AND still have power : ) This will be short but I wanted to get some of these pictures up...Carson has continued to do well with eating. I catch myself just holding my breath sometimes...will he eat this time? how much? is he going to gag and throw up? I feel like it is all a dream sometimes and I just pray I don't wake up : ) Carson doesn't always eat as much and it at times requires more 'encouraging' than others but I do think it is clear that he CAN do it! Now, its just a matter of progressing to solid foods and eventually getting rid of that dang feeding tube! I have actually talked to the dietician and Carson's speech therapist and we ARE going to try to cut one feeding out (200 calories). So, that means that Carson should technically cover those calories by the foods he eats by mouth. Please, please be praying that I can keep it all in perspective because I want to keep it as positive as possible.

Secondly, Carson has done better overall with his coughing, however there are still times when he seems to cough more than usual and occasionally he requires supplemental oxygen at night for no obvious reason. I just continue to pray for direction and guidance for everyone that is involved in his care.

We have sure had fun these past couple weeks, here are a few pictures...

Buds!

Turkey trot crew!! We had so much fun!

Their first 'trot'

They look so grown up...getting ready to go see Santa!

Daddy's big helpers!

Love this picture!

First look at ALL the snow!

A tree needle must be getting Carson : )

We have some more snow ice cream lovers!

Kellen thought he was ready for the snow : ) haha!

Now we are ready!