Reed's Christening

We were finally able to christen our little angel tonight. It was a nice, small, family ceremony. Reed was able to wear his original homecoming outfit during his christening, since it was white. :) At least we got to use it! He did great through the ceremony, barely fussing at all. We had an enjoyable dinner following the christening and got in some good visiting time.

God blessed us with a true miracle on March 14, 2010, and we have anxiously awaited the day we could finally christen him and present him before God. We will officially present him to the church family when he is able to go to church after he turns a year old, when we will finish the vows that the church has to take.

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Today we are thankful for those who were able to be with us as we christened Reed, those who have been with us through it all, and who will be a vital part of his life as he grows. We love you all! Count your blessings and remember to give thanks for all you are blessed with. That's the most important lesson I've learned through this journey we started on March 14, 2010. You never know when something or someone you love dearly will be taken from you, so cherish the time you have.

Love to all,

~19 and counting......~

19 weeks, that is! Today, Reed is officially 19 weeks old; he outgrew his newborn diapers, FINALLY, and moved into size 1; he tried apple juice and discovered a new love; he kissed me back when I kissed him (of course, his kiss was licking my lips). What a busy day!

Happy boy!

I was full of smiles today!

I can kiss Mommy!! :)

Who is this crazy lady?!?!?

We are going to make the most of our last week together....before I return to work on August 3rd. :(  It will be strange being back at work (in a different place, too) for the first time since March 12th!! I don't even want to think about it..... However, I have GOT to get my classroom finished so I'll feel better walking in the morning of the 3rd.

God has blessed us with another wonderful week with our precious boy, and we are looking forward to another one. This week we will christen Reed in a private ceremony at the family farm since he can't go to church until he's a year old. I am very excited about finally getting to do this! He will wear his original Homecoming outfit that we bought at Strasburg in Macon, the day we found out he was a BOY!!! I'll upload pics of his christening as soon as I can. The christening is on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m., so if you happen to think about it, send up some praises with us as we celebrate the wonderful gift God has blessed us with. He truly is our miracle baby, and we give all praise to the one true Healer for allowing us to keep him.

Have you found any blessings today? Have you taken time to say thank you for all the blessings you have received? I want to say thanks to all our prayer warriors out there who lifted little Tori Jo up. She went home yesterday evening, and is doing well.

Love to all,

Tori Jo update

Tori Jo has been put back on oxygen. Apparently her body is not ready to be off oxygen for good. They are calling her episode a vagal response. She got so worked up over getting a shot that she passed out. She is doing great now, and will be in TRMC over night for observation. She will stay on oxygen until her body is ready to be off completely.

Tori Jo arrived in Macon 3 weeks after we did with Reed. She was born 14 weeks early, and weighed only 1 pound 14 ounces. We became very close to her family while we stayed at the Ronald McDonald House together. Tori Jo went into bed #9 on acute in NNICU when Reed moved from bed #9 on acute to bed #39 on progressive. We have really grown to love this family, and we were devastated by today's episode. She has done so well with all that she has been through. Please continue to pray for Tori Jo and Kristy and Darin.

Thanks so much!

We are having another photo session for Reed tomorrow, and I can't wait to be able to post some new portraits to share with you!!!

Love to all,

~More Prayers Needed~

I have an urgent prayer request. Our friends, Kristy and Darin, that we met while in Macon, came to visit us for a while today between doctors' appointments. It was so good to see them! They brought their two little girls, Jaiden and Tori Jo. Tori Jo had a checkup this afternoon. I got a frantic call from Kristy saying that they were admitting Tori Jo into Tift Regional. Her CRIT was at 27, which is low. In NNICU, they would transfuse if a CRIT was at 27. When they went to draw the blood, Tori Jo went limp and unresponsive, and they had to work hard to get her back to consciousness. They have no idea what caused this to happen. They are in Tift Regional now waiting on the doctor to come in and talk to them. They want a blood transfusion, which could help decrease desats she was having at our house. She has also been sleeping for about 20 out of 24 hours a day, which could be contributed to the low CRIT. She is also extremely pale, which can be caused by a need for blood. PLEASE PRAY for Tori Jo. Kristy and Darin are wondering if they need to be going back to MCCG in Macon, since that's where she spent 11 weeks in NNICU. I will post an update when I have one. Thanks in advance for your prayers!

Love to all,

Prayers needed

This post is not about our little Reed, who is doing wonderfully! My post today is requesting your continued prayers for my distant family. My second cousin, Amy Beggs Justice, was killed Saturday morning, along with her son. Her daughter is the sole survivor, since her husband took his own life after he shot the others.

The funeral for all three family members will be tomorrow. Please wrap these families in your constant prayer through the next few days as they say good-bye to loved ones. Little Emily, Amy's daughter, has such a long road ahead of her as she begins a life without her mother, brother, and father. I cannot begin to fathom all that must be going through her little mind right now. She is going to need continued prayers and support to help her through this. So many of you prayer warriors prayed us through our dark days with Reed's journey, and now I beg you to do the same for little Emily Justice, as well as Amy's parents and sister, and the rest of the family. This tragedy is far-reaching with so many families affected.

Amy was always smiling. I don't recall ever seeing her without a smile on her face growing up. She was beautiful inside and out, and will leave such a hole in the lives of many.

Be thankful for time you have with your loved ones, and please remember the Beggs/McGill and Justice families in your prayers. Pray them through this tragedy as you all so faithfully prayed us through our dark days.

Love to all,

Thankful for another day...

YAY!!! Today Reed is 18 weeks old (even though he was gestationally 7 weeks old yesterday). Reed had his first sleep-over last night. Wayne and I went to see Phantom in Atlanta, and my family kept all three kids for the night.....I'm sure that was an adventure. Reed actually did very well. Mommy is so glad to be back home holding him.....and even took a nap with him. :)  I always miss my babies when I'm away from them, but a break is VERY good every so often. And, NO, I didn't sleep....even though there was no baby to feed through the night. :)  Reed is LOVING his cereal in his bottle around the clock, and we look forward to some big weight gains now.

Is that a triple chin???

Check out the rolls on that neck!!! Oh, yeah.... that's some good sugar! :)

As we celebrate another wonderful week with our precious son, we are saddened by news of the loss of relatives. While we were in Atlanta, we go the news that my second cousin lost her life. Amy Beggs Justice and her son both passed away. Her husband took his own life after taking their lives. They leave behind an 11 year old daughter, who survived the gunshot in her arm. Our prayers are for Amy's daughter, Emily, as she tries to make it through the coming days. She will definitely have a long road ahead of her. We pray God will wrap Amy's family and friends in His healing arms as they try to make sense of this situation and as they say good-bye to them later this week.

Today we are thankful for each other, and another day together as a family of five. I cannot imagine life without one of the five pieces of my family. Thank you, God, for another day as a family.

Be sure you let your loved ones know how much you love them. We never know what tomorrow might hold for us.

Love you all,

~Officially 4 months~

We went for Reed's four month checkup on Wednesday. He officially weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces, so my scales weren't too far off. He got more immunizations. He can OFFICIALLY have cereal in his milk all day and night. I have tried feeding him actual cereal with a spoon twice. He did much better the second time than he did the first....practice makes perfect. He is sleeping better at night...about 4 hours at a time.

Wayne and I are going to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox this weekend....it's my first outing all summer. I can't wait! This has been a very busy week for us with doctors' appointments and such...much more like NORMAL life, which has been very good for me. The real world starts back in a little over 2 weeks, which will be a huge adjustment for us all.

Today I'm thankful for time....time to spend with my three precious babies and husband; time to spend with great friends; time to rest and try to put life back together. What has God blessed you with today?

Love to all,

17 weeks later....

Okay, so we are 17 weeks into our Reed journey. It's time for mommy to put on her big girl panties and get back into life. School starts back in just over 3 weeks for me, and it's high time I get things together and get ready for returning to work for the first time since March 12th... These have honestly been the hardest 17 weeks of my life....from fighting for Reed's life to adjusting to life with a preemie. For now, I have given up trying to focus on running and will only focus on getting life together and ready to start a new school year....which will be a new challenge for all 5 of us. :)  God has given us a HUGE challenge to endure, and it didn't end when we brought Reed home. It has been VERY hard being stuck at home all day every day with a precious baby who can't go anywhere....which has been a big adjustment for me - the one who likes to GO GO GO!!! Being stuck at home all summer alone with all three kids has proven to be a huge challenge, but well worth it to have our little fellow home with us. The girls have had to adjust to not being able to go all summer, too. Visits and calls from friends have definitely been what's kept me going on the HARD days.

Reed started taking a bath in his rubber ducky bath tub last week because he finally got too big for the hospital pan we've bathed him in since he came home. :) Thank God for outgrowing hospital pans!!!

Reed will be 17 weeks old in a matter of minutes!!! What a precious addition he has truly been to our family!

Our journey has taught us a lot this far, and we expect to learn many more life lessons as we continue our journey. Prayers are still needed as we continue our journey...even into starting this new school year.

Unofficial weight for this week (Mommy plus Reed - Mommy) is 8 pounds 9.6 ounces. Okay, so YES, I broke the rules. I started feeding Reed one cereal bottle each night last Sunday night. Guess it really is helping him pack on some pounds!!! I can't wait for an OFFICIAL weigh-in this coming Friday when we go for our 4-month check-up!!! Woohoo!!! Reed is up to eating 26 to 30 ounces of formula a day!! He LOVES to eat, which is WONDERFUL!!! He looks so much more like a normal baby now that he is putting on some weight....not quite so fragile. He is actually wearing 0-3 month clothes now!!! Thank you, God, for measurable growth!!!

I'd like to ask all my prayer warrior friends to pray for a friend of mine who has recently experienced a miscarriage. I don't know exactly what she's going through since I've never been in her position. However, I do know how hard it is to be faced with the possibility of losing your child. Please keep my friend in your prayers as she works through this situation.

Today we are definitely thankful for weight gain and growth. But also extremely thankful for those friends who have been with us through this entire journey and continue to be with us. You will never know how much a simple phone call or short visit can mean to someone who is totally house-bound. Be on the lookout for ways you can be that breath of fresh air to someone in need. It may seem like such a small thing to you when you do it, but you will never know how much it means to the person on the receiving end. As our summer comes to a close, enjoy these last few weeks with your kids....making memories that will last forever.

Love to all,

It's been a while....

Seems like forever since I last posted! Nothing new really to post about. I have MY baby back since he's been on his meds for over a week now. It's been a great week! I weighed myself tonight and then weighed with Reed. The difference was 7 pounds 3.2 oz. WOW!!! He's getting so big! He's still 2 1/2 oz. smaller than Anna was when she was born, but he has come so FAR!!! Tonight - right as I post - Reed is officially 16 weeks old....WOW!!!! To think back to where we started this journey brings tears to my eyes.....how close we were to not having a little Reed in our lives. Thank you, God, for giving us this precious gift!

We spent our 4th of July quietly by the pool. Reed enjoyed a little sunshine, too.

Today we are thankful for all those brave men and women who have served and continue to serve our wonderful country to provide us with the freedom we all enjoy. We are also thankful for every precious minute we have with our children....all 3 are blessings from God....as are each of yours.

We will be travelling to Atlanta tomorrow for Anna's appointment at Emory on Tuesday to have another hemagioma lasered off her face. We had one done in the summer of 2008. While I was in Macon, she had another one come up. There may be a couple of them.....not exactly sure. We will drive up tomorrow and drive home after the procedure on Tuesday so Reed won't be in the car for 6 hours in one day. Pray for safe travels and for Reed to survive being in his carseat for an extended time.

Love to all,