Another huge prayer request!

I guess Katie is in the business of keeping us on our toes, because we've got another prayer request. Katie has a couple hemangiomas, which are collections of blood vessels, typically on the surface of the skin. They are often referred to as strawberry marks, and are like red birth marks that are slightly raised. They usually go away by the age of 9 or so. Very common and typically no big deal. Well, one of Katie's is located on her neck, and I noticed yesterday that there was a bulge bellow the surface under the hemangioma on her neck, so I did some research. Turns out they can sometimes grow on the larynx, resulting in airway restriction. Well, Katie has had some breathing difficulties. It's typically when she eats, so the doctor last week thought it was her reaction to reflux. After reading about this, I got her right into the pediatrician last night, who is referring us to an ENT specialist. So we don't know right now. Many of the symptoms of this also are symptoms of TEF, so it's hard to know. I have an appointment tomorrow. What I'm praying for is that this hemangioma is not on her larynx, or has not grown in a complicated way. Hemangiomas all grow for about a year, and then they "involute" or stop growing and get smaller. This type on the larynx needs surgery, which I am of course hoping is not the case for us. Please just pray for Katie, and for wisdom on the part of the doctors and for favor for us with the doctors. We are already fortunate to have an appointment this week, and my doctor was good about wanting it checked out right away. Again, I'm just praying it's a normal hemangioma, that maybe they will treat but not need surgery for, and also for wisdom and favor. And for strength for me. Nathan keeps a cool head, but I'm struggling. The idea of giving my baby girl up to the operating table for the 2nd time in 2 months is difficult for me. So please just be praying for us.

yea!

congratulations Julie and Josh! I let out a little hurray for you when i read the blog :)
ok, so pregnancy firsts... yesterday i woke up with, you guessed it, my first stretch mark. It's pretty faint and i had myself covinced for the first half of the day that it was a sheet crease. But by 3PM i just couldn't use that excuse anymomre! I knew they would come, but i was hoping they would wait another month or so... too bad.
So all is well here at the Akers house. Nobu and Fujiko are begging me to take them on a walk so i will have to cut this short to maintain my sanity. We still haven't heard from the final board meeting that happened last week as to the final OK for the release of start up money for Chris' company. Fujiko was spayed on monday of this week. I was hoping that would settle her down for a week or so but she proved me wrong tuesday wanting to tackle Nobu so quickly. so much for myweek of desired quiet. She's up to 60 pounds now, heavy enough for me to not pick her up. Nobu is roughly 85 lbs so i cant dream of picking him up. Fujiko is becoming more submissive and for that i am thankful. It eases my mind for when the baby comes. Mark your calanders girls... the last friday in May will be my 20 week appointment. Pray that Baby A cooperates for the ultrasound so we can start calling him/her a name!!
the dogs just knocked something over... gotta run!

We love vacation

Hey Girls, just a quick update. I know I just wrote one, but have found myself with the need to write another one. We had a nice vacation week with Josh home. He and I had a fun time at the Reds game yesterday and then went to dinner at Burbanks Barbecue (for those familiar with Gary Burbanks and Earl Pitts, American). The food was excellent, but I have to admit the ambiance was lacking. But if you're going to be in Cincinnati, you have to eat at Burbanks at least once. Then we saw Leatherheads (not the best movie ever) and had a wonderful dessert at Bravo on their outside deck. The weather was gorgeous and it was a nice evening. We stayed overnight in a hotel and had a wonderful relaxing morning where we got to sleep in without children harassing us at 7am. It was a wonderful and much needed get-away without kids. Especially since our lives with children should get more hectic in about 8 months as I am pregnant with our third. I am about 9 weeks along and we were trying. So we're very excited. We waited a little bit to tell people this time and I'm sorry for that. I did not mention it before, but I did have a very early miscarriage in February a couple months ago. So, we wanted to make sure we had a doctors appointment and that all looked good before we made the announcement. I had an appointment this week and all looks healthy. The heart rate was 146 and they could see the neural tube developing and everything is as it should be. I've been feeling pretty good this time around. I'm still dealing with nausea, but as long as I can take a Zofran first thing in the morning, I'm good to go. It has been SOOOOOO much better than my first two pregnancies thus far. I am due Nov. 30. So anyways, just wanted to post the news. Hope you all are well. =)

blah

Hey Girls, not much to say. Just wanted to say I'm sorry about your car accident Jen. That really sucks. And as one who has had my fair share of car accidents, I know what a pain in the butt you'll be dealing with for the next few weeks. I'm sorry about your headache and soreness. It stinks when you can't take any real medication because of pregnancy. And Tylenol is like candy, totally worthless most of the time. =) I'm glad to hear the baby seems fine and is well-protected. That is good news. Angie, we are all jealous that you got to go see baby Katie. I'm glad you guys had a fun weekedn with Liz and Nathan. Nothing much new here. Josh has this next week off for some vacation time, so that will be very nice. We're going to rock out to a "Go Diego Go" concert. That should be a pretty wild time (seriously). Seth is a pretty hard core Diego fan, so we're hoping he will enjoy his first live concert/show. Hopefully, it will go better than his first trip to a movie theater did a couple months ago when he catapulted himself out of his chair and face first into the cement half-way through "The Pirates that don't do Anything." We're also going to dump the kids on mom and dad for a day so we can go to a Reds game (yippee!!!) (can you sense my sarcasm?) and then hopefully dinner and some quality time together just me and Josh. That will be very nice. We're also going to try to take the kids to the conservatory to see a butterfly and plant exhibit. They do butterfly releases that I think Seth would love since he currently likes to flit around the house, flapping his hands, and singing "I'm a butterfly!" Josh asked him one day if he was a flying falcon or eagle and Seth stopped and said, "no, I'm a butterfly!" Then continued his prance. Josh has given up and has declared that it's my fault Seth likes girly things. He thinks I spend my days teaching the kids to dance and wear ruffles. And when I took Seth to a "toddler ballet" playgroup, Josh had a cow and said I am cementing an effiminate personality. It's pretty hilarious. Especially because Lilah can kick Seth's butt. So anyways, we're looking forward to our week together. Unfortunately, Josh has to study for his board exams coming up at the end of the week. So that will take some time away. But it will still be nice. Well, I hope you girls are good. catch ya'll later!

more drama

hi girls,
tonight on my way home from work i was in a car accident. i was rear-ended at a stop light and ended up hitting the car in front of me also. The car is remarkably well and we probably won't even get it fixed. The rear bumper has a half inch crack is all. the other two cars don't even have a scratch. I hit my head pretty hard on the head rest (head forward, head backward...ouch) and had an immediate headache. So i see the chiro in the AM. And Baby A... the doctor said since i'm just 13 weeks, he or she is really protected in there. so unless i start cramping or bleeding, there should be nothing to worry about. But what i wouldn't give to take an advil right now!
Anyway, i would appreciate your prayers for the pain i have and i know is coming in my head/neck/back, and the emotional drama i'll be going through with insurance companies. that's never fun.
On the brighter side, i woke up tuesday with that coveted BURST of energy everyone told me was coming. Crazy, it was like someone flipped a switch and i felt like my old self again... just chubbier! love and miss you all, Jen

Visiting with Katie...

So I just had to make you all a bit jealous by posting a picture of me with baby Katie. You should have gotten my album from Kodak to check out the rest of the pictures from the weekend. We had such a great time relaxing and spending time with precious baby Katie, and of course mom and dad.

Liz & Nate - I can see already see how great you are as parents to Katie. Thank you so much for letting us join in the fun this past weekend.

Love to all.

Good Friend & A Glass of Wine

Nick and I were just watching CMT Countdown and the song "Good Friend & A Glass of Wine" and Nick looked at me and said... "Hey, it's your song about you and your Sapphires." And it made me think of how much I need a glass of wine with you girls. I'm praying for you all as you go through the changes that life is bringing to you. This year is becoming quite the scrapbooking event... send pictures!!

Next time you sit down to read the blog, grab a glass of wine (or grape juice for Jen) and know that you are loved among good friends. :)

Mi casa es su casa

Thanks for all the prayers, girls. We signed the lease on our brand spankin' new apartment this afternoon. The movers arrive tomorrow with our stuff, so it really was perfect timing. It's pretty amazing how God worked things out at the very last minute. We were pretty much sweating bullets there for a while. Good times.

Below is a picture of the view from our balcony. If you look closely, you can see the ocean there in the background. Pretty freakin' cool.

We're also about five miles from LAX, so if anyone flies through or to LA anytime soon, let me know!

Love you girls!

planes, trains and automobiles

So Seth had his choo choo train birthday party on Saturday. It went very well and he had a blast. And as a bonus, our friend, Tim, who had flown into town for some stuff and was supposed to fly out on Saturday morning got stranded here until Monday. He had flown Skybus and was scheduled to fly out Saturday morning at like 9am. So Friday night, Josh just happened to be looking at the Skybus website at like 10pm and they had a bulletin posted that they were going out of business effectively at midnight. Tim's flights were cancelled and he had to rebook, but couldn't get an affordable flight until Monday night. It was so crazy. So, he got to stick around for the birthday party, which I'm not sure he was so excited about but Seth loved it. =) We had tickets with Skybus to Philadelphia the week of Joe's wedding, so we're trying to get our money back and will probably just drive now. Anyways... Seth had a fun day and thoroughly enjoyed all of his birthday party activities. He loved his train cake and all of the Thomas the Train stuff everywhere. The weather was beautiful, so he and his little friends had a blast playing outside. He had a great time and totally crashed at bedtime. We had a full house of overnight guests, so we put Seth in our bed down in the basement and he didn't even try to get out of bed once. (I thought he would because we were not down there with him and I thought he might get a little scared down there by himself) He was sound asleep within like 2 minutes. Almost before I even finished praying with him. He got some new train stuff to add to his collection. He got some superhero stuff to get started on that collection, including a batmobile. And he got hotwheels and a big race track. So, it was pretty much everything he could have asked for. One of our friends got him a tub of art clay, which was approximately the size and color of a tub of butter. Seth pulled it out and exclaimed most excitedly, "Butter! I love butter!" It was one of his favorite gifts, I'm afraid he may be disappointed when he learns it is not actually butter. He really does love butter right now.

Well, I hope the rest of the moving stuff goes well for you guys, Kim. Tell the Schergers I said hi. =) Liz, so happy to hear Katie is home now and you guys get to cuddle and take care of her all the time now. We'll keep praying for you all that she eats well and it all goes smoothly and for rest and endurance for you and Nathan during this stressful, sleep-deprived time. Much love girls! I'll send pics of Seth's party via shutterfly soon.

Live from LA

Hi girls,

This will be quick as I'm pretty much completely exhausted and the baby's finally sleeping so I have to grab some shut-eye while I can.
First of all, Liz -- I am so happy for you and Katie and Nathan. What a wonderful blessing that you get to have her at home with you now. We will continue to pray that things go well with her. I'm sure she'll be a little butterball in no time!

So we made it to sunny California a couple days ago and have been frantically scrambling to find an apartment ever since. Originally, the movers were going to take about three weeks to get our stuff to us, so we had plenty of time to find something. But we got a call on the way down here saying that they were on their way and will be here on Tuesday or Wednesday. So that hasn't left us with much time. We're staying with some friends right now (Benj's parents, for those of you who know Benj), which has been a huge blessing. They live about 2 hours from LA, which kind of sucks as far as driving back and forth but it's been great to have some semblance of a home for the past couple of nights.
We did find a place today that we absolutely loved and we got all the paperwork started to hopefully be able to move in on Tuesday. So if you think about it, say a little prayer that it all works out so Violet and I don't have to go hook on the streets of downtown LA.

Otherwise, all this sunshine is amazing. And the beaches are literally minutes from where we're going to live. I know there's a whole lot more stuff to get taken care of in like no time at all, but I'm still pretty excited to be here. I'm sure God will work everything out -- it just feels like we've been hitting quite a few brick walls lately.

But anyway, I love you girls!

Katie-Bug, Part 2

Ok, so the 2nd stage of Katie's life has finally begun...life outside the NICU. Anyway, Katie did come home Thursday afternoon. You have no idea what if felt like to finally be a parent walking out of the hospital with a carseat that had a baby in it! These are the things most parents take for granted (there are about a hundred of those such things, as I learned while I was in the hospital without my baby, and while visiting Katie in the hospital). But we'll save that conversation for another day. I can't even tell you all how my life has changed through all this, and how I feel like a completely different person in some ways.

Anyway, Katie is doing pretty well. The first night and day were difficult and a bit stressful. Eating can be such a process, and a stressful time if she doesn't eat much, because eating is what all of our lives hinges on right now. We don't want her to end up back in the hospital. Anyway, she is eating better today, with the help of some better bottles and nipples, and eating a little more as well. Her pediatrician is amazing, which is such a God thing, because I was still in the process of interviewing them when she was born. Turns out their office has quite a bit of experience with kids with TEF. They saw her on Friday, and she will be back again on Monday to see where her weight is at after te weekend. There are still many follow up tests with the hospital to do as well in the coming weeks. They are keeping an eye on her kidneys and her head concerning some things they've seen that are very common in preemies and typically resolve themselves. But of course, we still keep that in prayer, as we want to fall into that "typical" range. There are still very difficult times. Sometimes after I feed her and I'm holding her up, it seems as though she has reflux and like it could be painful(it's either that or gas...gotta ask the dr. about it). Those times make me just want to cry for her and wish I could take it all instead of her. But we continue to believe for full healing in her little body and that she won't deal with reflux, esophagus problems, or any other problems/side effects of TEF or being a preemie.

But on the happy side, as of Friday, Katie was up to 4 lb, 11oz. She drowns in newborn clothes still:) I bought some tape today so I can fold her onesies and sleepers in the back and tape them. We have a couple preemie outfits, some of which also seem kinda big. Which I don't get, because there are plenty of preemies smaller than her, but whatever. We still marvel and laugh everyday at her mass of dark hair. She's got the most beautiful blue eyes right now. We'll see if they stay or change. And she's an easy baby so far...only cries when she's gassy or hungry, or being changed if she's cold. She has daddy wrapped around her pinky and doesn't even know it yet, and I imagine he'll make her miserable when she's a teenager:). Ok, that's it for now. I love you all to death and appreciate you and your prayers a hundred times over. We still just take life one day at a time and have really learned to value life!

Real Quick

This has to be quick, because i have to leave soon. But I wanted to announce that KATIE IS COMING HOME TODAY!! Of course, it's not final until after the doctor's do their morning rounds, but I'm sure she had a good night (I will know as soon as I call over there), and she had gained more weight as of last night. Getting her to eat is still a little difficult sometimes, and nursing has not taken off yet (she's gotten lazy from the IV and the easy flow of a bottle), but those things will work themselves out I'm sure. So I'm ready to get no sleep from here on out, but can't wait because I get to be with my baby all the time now (sleeping will be quite difficult because not only do I have to get up to feed Katie, but she also has to be help upright for 30 min to prevent reflux, and then I have to pump still). But I still can't wait!

And I look forward to continued updates from you all. Julie, your party will be awesome. Sounds quite crafty and over the top to me, so don't worry about what the other moms are doing. Ok girls, gotta go. Just wanted to post the praise report.

choo choo

Ok, so I figured I would post a little ligh-hearted blog since we've had some fairly intense ones lately. Liz, I'm so happy to hear that katie seems to be doing so well in her progress at this point. Keep the updates coming! And Kim, have you moved yet? How's all that going? I love the updates from you girls. So, Seth is turning 3 on April 7th. We are having his party on Saturday. He is really into trains right now, so he's having a choo choo train party and a lot of Thomas the Train paraphernelia. First of all, I just want to say that kids' birthday parties are expensive! I'm doing it cheaply because I borrowed a lot of stuff from some friends here. Even with that, I just spent $70 on party favors and plates. I still have to buy all the food and balloons and Seth's presents. If you rent a room somewhere or have entertainment or something, you'll easily pay between 300-500 dollars for a kid's birthday party! (We're not doing that, our party is at home with no entertainment except some borrowed train toys) It's a little crazy, but he's old enough to get into it now. Fortunately, my mom is making a giant choo choo train cake, so I don't have to worry about that and Vicki is helping with some food too. That will be nice, but it's still ridiculous how much goes into a 3 year old's birthday. And then it starts to get a little competitive, because you don't want your kid's party to be crappy compared to all their friends's parties... I swear, when you join the mom world it becomes this whole new kind of elitist competition to see who fits into the group. Who's parties are the coolest? Who has the best play room for playgroups? Who feeds their kids only organic and whole grains? Who uses only "green" cleaning products so that their kids don't die of cancer? How much TV do you let your kids watch, because their brains will rot after 30 minutes of Dora (everyone knows that)? Which preschool are your kids going to? Do you spend at least 30 minutes reading to your children every day? And the list goes on and on.... Don't get me wrong, most of those are things to pay attention to for the most part, but it can get a little out of hand. Fortunately, most of my actual friends are pretty laid back about things. But when you throw a birthday party, the pressure is still on a little bit. One of my friends was just mentioning the other day how she always homemakes her birthday pinatas, and how there's no reason to really go out and buy one. I simply thought, "yes there is, and now I don't want you at my party." (I'm kidding, I like her very much) But I didn't get a pinata anyways because we already have too much candy and the Thomas pinata was like $25. So I will let the kids each pop a balloon to find a piece of candy inside, and they will probably think that is more fun anyways. Today I have to turn a cardboard box into a train car and paint some little rocks black like coal for a "coal toss" for the game. I hope nobody throws a rock at someones head. But they're small and I don't want to sew my own black bean bags. Seth has been talking about his birthday for a couple weeks now and I'm about to lose my mind. Vicki bought him some new Thomas sunglasses and Thomas shoes so that he could "run to his birthday party." He's literally been "running" to his party ever since. He woke up at 11:00pm the other night and when I went to his room to make him go back to bed, he was waiting for me with a smile and said "it's time for my birthday!" "And Nina's going to bring my choo choo train cake and I'm going to ride on it!" Since then, he probably asks if it's time for his birthday about 20 times a day and regularly talks about grandma bringing him presents and how he's going to blow out his candles and eat candy and play with his friends. I am SOOOOO glad I decided to do his party this weeknd and not next weekend. We went to the party supply store today and Seth wore his birthday hat the entire time. It was pretty cute and he has been pretty funny about the whole thing. It is a lot more fun planning a party for a kid who actually cares and is excited than in the past when the kids are too young to even know what's going on. Seth is getting so big, he's really a big boy now. (Other than refusing to use the toilet or wear big boy underpants) but we're working on it. And on his birthday, we're sending all of his binkys to the "binky fairy" via mail for all of the new little babies who need them. Then the binky fairy will send Seth a special "big boy" toy that only children who don't use binkys anymore get. We'll see how that goes. I'm expecting the biblical weeping and gnashing of teeth the first few nights and naps without the binky. So that is what's going on with us lately girls. Birthday planning and kid stuff. I'll post pictures after the party so you all can see my big 3 year old and his train day. Love you all!