So far, none of our September appointments have been rearranged, yet! We don't know when surgery will be just yet - late September or early October and we are having a sleep study on Ocober 26th, but that is as consolidated as we could get everything. Not too bad. At least I think we are getting most stuff out of the way before winter weather and cold/flu season are really upon us. As long as there is no more evidence of seizures, we shouldn't be seeing neurology again for a long time, if ever. We will see Developmental Peds down here at least once this winter and ofcourse we will see Pediatric Surgery and Pulmonology down here, so hopefully that will take us through the winter? I guess we will find out.

I am trying to get and stay organized. I finally purchased a binder with a different folder for each specialty we are seeing - the doctors' names and phone numbers are on the front of each folder within the binder. Laura and Christine, aren't you proud of me? It all sounds great until I tell this story - I worked for a few hours yesterday and after I got home and changed clothes, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and realized I had only put on one earring. I guess I was just too busy and distracted to accomplish both. So I was at work all afternoon with just one hoop earring. My hair was down, so hopefully nobody noticed? I know I put the one on in the bedroom, I found the other one in the kitchen....? Don't ask, I don't know.

Appt with Dr. Rouse

We had a check up today with Dr. Rouse. Gabe was weighed - are you ready for this....? 14lbs and 7 oz!!! I looked back at our first check up with Dr. Voyles - that was July 26th and he weighed 10-11. I can't believe he has gained almost 4 lbs since we brought him home! Granted, scales can read a little differently, but that is still huge! (Well, HE is anyway)

Dr. Rouse immediately commented on how great Gabe looks and how well he is holding his head up and smiling these days. The things we parents are proud of ;) We briefly discussed the improvements noted on the sleep study and confirmed that we are going back up for a full night study in mid-late October (I'll have to check the calendar - I've got too many dates running around in my head). We also discussed the Gtube and he seemed to agree with Dr. Stanley (developmental peds) that if he really isn't improving on oral intake (that would be eating) then a Gtube is likely inevitable. He wants to get it done before RSV season hits - since we would be back in the hospital. Soooo...that means end of September/early October. He said he had thought we would wait until Gabe was a year old (and at the end of RSV season) before repairing the hernia, but since he will go to surgery for the feeding tube, then they will repair that at the same time - probably using the same incision for both. We will consult with him again about surgery September 25th. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that there was some confusion about our Neurology appt on October 3rd and we were scheduled with the wrong doctor. Anyway, I got a call on Monday letting me know that appt had been moved to 9-25 so I have been scrambling to get the flexible bronch and the oximetry swallow study moved. I finally got those appts nailed down so our new schedule has us going up to Riley on Monday the 24th for the oximetry study at 3:00 (Indy time) then coming back in the morning at 7:30 for the bronch immediately followed by an EEG and our appointment with Neurology. I was a little frustrated yesterday when I had to work on rescheduling everything (fortunately everyone I talked to was very understanding and as accommodating as they could be) but after talking to Dr. Rouse, it is actually a good thing these appts are all earlier. He'd like to get the results of both the swallow study and the bronch before discussing surgery - this just moves things along faster. So, once again, everything is working out just as it should (and if anybody else tries to move anything again, so help me......!)

Ok, that is it. I got to feeling very "Marth Stewart" as Josh put it (is there a jail joke in there somewhere?) and decided to make a peach pie and then some fresh salsa - I have to quit visiting the farmer's market - and now my kitchen looks like the farmer's market threw up everywhere. Gabe needs a bath too - so gotta go!

Prayer blog

Our family has been so blessed and so fortunate to have all of you praying for us. We have become so much more aware of the power of prayer, and the power of our family and friends when they get together to pray for each other. Others we have asked you to pray for have also improved and are moving forward. I was thinking about this and the impact it has had on us and on others and thought how much more could be done to reach out - or to create a forum for our circle to pray for each other. I know there are other blog pages devoted to prayer, but I wanted a place for all of us to reach each other. I'll include a link to another blog page that will hopefully take off and meet this need for not just our family, but all of our friends and families. I put instructions on how I think this will work the best on the blog page - but this is how I think it should work.

First: email me with your prayer request and I'll cut and paste into a post on the blog - then others can pray for you - and leave comments. Please update those who are praying for you - either by leaving a comment with the original post, or emailing me an update for another post - if you prefer. I am not the most computer savvy around, so if anyone has a better suggestion, let me know!

I can also "invite" others to post, so if you want to be given access to posts - send me your email instead and I will send you an "invitation" to post yourself. Either way will work, I think! It's worth a try, anyway!

Here's my personal email: wittyaud@yahoo.com
Here's the blog: http://circleofprayer.blogspot.com

I tried using "Prayer Warriors", but it was taken.

Little Colts Fan!!!!

Look at him, all engrossed in the game! Well, he looks cute in his jersey anyway. We'll see if he grows up to be a football fan.

I tried posting pictures the way I have been, but it wasn't working - so this is what I figured out.

Woo - hoo Colts!!

Last night, when it was game time, Justin and Kendrick were in bed and Josh had gone to work, so it was just Gabe and I - hangin out, watching the Colts dominate. Really didn't expect the domination thing, by the way. I actually thought it would be pretty close - nice to see our defense off to a good start! Anyway, after getting in some baby exercise, I rewarded Gabe by putting a hand-me-down jersey on him and propping him up to see the game. He enjoyed it, quite naturally. At one point, he was kicking away like crazy - watch out Adam, Gabe may give you some competition! HEY - I just realized something. Since Gabe doesn't have any pericardium around his heart, we figured that means definitely NO football or any other contact sport. But he COULD be a kicker. Hmmmm...something to think about. (yes, this is actually Peggy typing, not Josh) Anyway, while we were sitting there watching the game, I had a moment, just a brief one. It was more a flash of feeling - for a split second I was back at his bedside and he was just a few meager hours old, and we were preparing to say goodbye. It was gone as quick as it came, but I felt strangled and briefly disoriented - almost as if I wasn't sure what was real. Did he really survive? Did we really bring him home? Ofcourse he did and we did and it was silly and strange. Is that normal? Doesn't feel normal!

Ok, there are pics below, or there will be as soon as I get them posted.

New pictures

Scroll down to check em out!

Sorry no update for a few days - assume at this point that no news is good news. We had a pretty uneventful holiday weekend (which is a GOOD thing) and we enjoyed that almost as much as we used to enjoy busy boating/camping Labor Day weekends. Well, we did have a lot of fun at Kentucky lake all those years ago.....Anyway, uneventul = nothing bad happened, so we are happy with that! I accomplished such great things as big grocery store stock up trip, with both older boys in tow and NO announcement such as "clean up on aisle...." you get the idea. They were actually really good and I didn't wind up with TOO many extras in the cart. Josh got some yard stuff done too and I watched all three without the house falling down - and only three cups of coffee (not laced with anything either, aside from hazelnut creamer). The older two got into some minor scrapes, but didn't kill each other and no trips to the ER needed, so we count it as a successful weekend. We did get in some fun things. My longtime friend from Boston was visiting her inlaws in Duboise (near Jasper) and we, along with another longtime friend who now lives in Evansville, all met for dinner and a catch-up session. On Monday the grandparents along with Aunt Brooke watched Gabriel so we could take Justin and Kendrick miniature golfing, which is one of their favorite things to do. It was HOT, but fun. Since we don't get out too much anymore, we'd love to live vicariously through you all. Feel free to chime in a comment on your holiday weekend!

On another note, this morning Josh brought me a book he is currently reading and asked me to read a short excerpt. It is a book my brother Mike recommended, written by Tony Dungy. We are all Dungy fans around here. Not only was he instrumental in delivering the much anticipated and long awaited NFL championship for the Colts, but he did it with class and dignity and none of the "smack talk" and posturing that is frequently so prevalent it a lot of professional sports. But Josh had me read this excerpt b/c it resonated so profoundly with our own recent experiences. I'll type it in here.

Excerpt from "Quiet Strength", written by Tony Dungy.
"In September 2001, we would bring home anoher child, Jade. Lauren felt that Jordan needed someone to play with - somehow I knew that was coming. When it came to adopting another child, we never gave Jordan's medical condition a second thought. Jordan's condition is difficult, but we realized it could just as easily have happened to one of our biological children. Plus, we believe God had a reasoon to send Jordan to us. We hae a variety of resources that help us deal with his needs, especially Lauren's patience and nurturing spirit.
We view Jordan, our son, as a special blessing. We're grateful for our opportunity to impact and shape his young life. In the process, Jordan personally illustrates for us some of the wonders of God and His plan for us. Watching the impact of that single missing gene reminds me how intricately each of us has been designed and created. I am continually amazed at the wonder of God's most complex creation - people. The line between what we consider normal and what we consider special is so fine. So many varied, delicate pieces contribute to the balance and beauty of the whole picture. Just another part of life's journey."

That second paragraph hits home on so many levels. The timing of development with Gabe, something we never thought about at the time, but in that timing something went wrong - just briefly and such a little thing at that particular time - and it had such a huge impact on his potential survival, and will continue to have some sort of impact on the rest of his life. He looks so perfect and can do anything any other baby can do, aside from some minor, temporary issues. But this one thing, this one little thing, could have easily ended his life before it really began. We have been given the gift of a tremendous responsibility. I can't say it any better than Dungy does - each of us have been so intricately designed and "so many varied, delicate pieces contribute to the balance and beauty of the whole picture". I wish I could put words together like that.