Sleepy Girl

Hope is such a sleepy girl these days.  She had a little fever today, and the tylenol helped.  She's been very sleepy for quite a number of days now.  She wakes up for a few minutes, and then has a seizure and goes back to sleep.  At least when she's sleeping, her breathing is nice and even.

Fever

Hope had a fever today of 102.4 F.  She still hasn't gotten over the cold that the other two kids had.  She's coughing up green/yellow sputum and for a while today she was working very hard to breath, and her heart rate was over 200 beats per minute.  It took three hours to get her temp down, and then she started to settle.  It was a rough day.  Right now, she is sleeping peacefully and her temp is normal, and her breathing is steady.  Hopefully I can rest up well, and find the mental energy for this next stage in the journey.

Family

This is how Mira looked this past weekend.  Today she still has a drippy nose, but she's much more smiley and energetic.  Brodie was over his cold within a couple days.  Hope isn't coughing as much anymore, but she still has thick yellow/green secretions.  We'll keep an eye on her.

Despite this, the weekend was great.  I was thrilled to be able to spend a lot of time with my Sawatsky family, who had come from all over, for a family reunion.  Family is such a GOOD thing.  Relationship is definitely worth the effort.

Nothing much...

Nothing much is happening here, although I'm pretty sure all three kids have a cold.  Brodie and Mira are coughing for sure, and I thought Hope was having her normal coughing, but now I think it might be a cold.  She is coughing A LOT.  It's not that exciting though, just normal kid stuff.

Alex and I managed to get away, by ourselves, for the weekend.  Yep, that was definitely a good thing.  We're still trying to figure out how to adjust to life without Ashley, so it was nice to get away and have a break from thinking and decision making.  It's been four months now, since Ashley died, and I find grief to be a mysterious thing.  I'm still trying to figure it out.  All I know for sure, is that my normally organized, speedy, and multi-tasking brain has turned to mush and the best I can do is go with the flow. 

I do have unexpected moments when the tears come, but please don't ask me why I'm crying.  I don't feel that I should have to explain it, or that I should have to analyze it.  There are so many reasons to cry and I'm just glad when they come, so I can let go a little.  I should be allowed to cry at this point.  Everything just feels a little unstable and since I don't know what to do about that, I'll just keep close to God and let Him guide me.

Cuteness!

Okay, yes, I admit it...I can't get over how cute Mira is...and I am shamefully posting this pic that I love. 

Te he!

I am still amazed at her ever changing expressions and cute little giggles.  I love how she reaches for me when she's tired, and how she scrunches up her nose and almost snorts when she gets really excited.  It's amazing to see her on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth, thinking about how she will get to that shoe she wants to chew so badly.  How wonderful is LIFE?!!!

Hope is having a good week too.  She's had a lot of cuddles today and I'm sure she'll have a lot this weekend too.

Have a great weekend.



Weekend outing

Alex played fastball all weekend, and I decided it would be worth the energy to pack up the kids and go watch for the day on Saturday.    Hope did really well, and even had a little nap in the afternoon.  Mira did well too, but she did not nap...at all.  Despite the heat and no nap, Mira smiled all day and clapped and bounced.  Ashley J. and myself were very impressed. 

Better!

Yes, Hope is doing better. She's come through the latest vomitting episode and is peeing well again. Today we are having a quiet day at home.

Hope's birthday was made special when her cousins came to visit.  The girls posed for a nice picture while the boys played downstairs.

After that Hope's caregivers came for a visit and we sang some songs to her.  She was still vomitting during the day and evening, but I think she enjoyed the singing and attention.

I had made cupcakes for the occasion.  I know it means nothing to Hope, but it sure was a treat for the rest of us, and treats are a huge help these days.

Today, Hope is having a good day.  She smiled a lot during playtime this morning and enjoyed her morning excercises.  Brodie is a great help in the mornings.  It's nice to have him home for the summer.

Happy Birthday Hope!

Happy Birthday Hopey!!!  It is so sad that you started puking last night, but we'll cuddle you all day anyway.

I decided to share a slideshow with everyone today.  It is the same one I made 2 years ago, and I modified it by adding some more recent pics.  Hopefully you can see it okay...

Free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox