Maybe not...

Here is Ivee a few days ago. She was playing around with her mouth, opening back and forth. She is looking much more like herself. This is prior to this past Friday's surgery.

Here is Ivee watching NEMO, her favorite movie, Friday morning.

Well, we thought perhaps we would never see the operating room for a while, but I guess not. I'll start with what's happen over the last 24 hours. After the older kids ball games yesterday, we returned to the hospital to check on Ivee. She was resting well. I left her under the care of my dad's watchful eye for the night. He said she had a rough night until about midnight. Then things calmed down. We got a phone call from dad this morning around 9:50 am, saying that Dr. Martino, the neurosurgeon, came in, and her wound in the back of her head was still leaking. So, he wanted to suture it again to stop it from leaking any further, cause he doesn't want to put a shunt in. We don't want that either. She's had enough surgeries and stuff done. And through out life, shunts can cause other problems, surgeries, test and infections. So, they took her into the PICU (peds. Intensive care unit), gave her some sedatives, and did a suture to her head. Only about 3 or 4 stiches in the one spot that is leaking. The leaking didn't become really bad until the original sutures were removed. It is believed that the removing of those stiches probably opened the wound some more, causing the excess of fluid. She is on a diaritic to help dry up the extra csf fluid.
They were going to begin giving her food in her tube today, but we have found out that she is going back into surgery tomorrow. This time, to change or repair the central line so that we can get blood return from it. So, we will once again be visiting the operating room in the morning. The cycle seems to never end. We did get to go to church this morning, even though I felt compelled to be at the hospital as her mother. But something inside me said, "What can you do? Sit in the waiting room? She'll be fine. Your dad is there. She's in the BEST hands. God's!" Worship was great. Joel's (my pastors) sermon was a great word. Of course, it dealt with trials and struggles. 1 Peter 1:6-9. The part of the sermon that gave me great comfort was...Trials come to that your faith may be proved genuine...Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith...
It is a comfort to know that my faith is revealed as genuine this side of heaven.
Once again, your comments are a joy for me to read. For those who know Emmett and I, you know our sense of humors. There are some of you who don't know us, but your comments are a relief for us. We enjoy your little comments of "comedic" relief. Everyone is awesome.
As you leave your comments, you are welcome to leave your email address, and I'll add you to my email list. I may also make an email account where you can send emails to us. I haven't decided if I am going to do this yet. God bless you all, and thanks for the spreading of the word. The prayers are spreading across the world.
Here is Ethan at his 1st ball game this past Saturday.











And below is Brittney...She is in blue.

A long day away from the Hospital

Today was a long day away from Ivee. The kids had basketball games all day, so a friend, Catina, and my dad sat with Ivee. Her wound on the back of her head is still leaking some, so they put a pressure dressing on it, and will put dermabond on it (kinda like super glue). It's not bad, but we need to pray that it stops, cause the last thing Ivee needs is a shunt in her head now. Hopefully, we are done with all the surgeries for at least 6 months to a year. We pray so, cause they wipe her out everytime, and she really needs to just recover as much as she can. Chemotherapy is coming next week, and they will be hard. Pray that she will be one of the few who does not get sick from chemotherapy. That would be such a blessing! She is sleeping well, and only really gets fussy when it is close to pain medicine time, or when someone is touching her or changing her diaper. Her diaper rash is looking so much better. It was horrible. It is no longer bleeding. The oncologist will have test results Monday, but today he said that some alot of the result from the bone marrow came back negative, and we will know the rest of that report on Monday. Praise God!!! Many of you have called me and left messages. I got them but frankly have been busy when you called, and too tired to call you back later. Not trying to ignore you. Promise. I love all of you, and thanks for the thoughts and prayers. You are great, and the God we serve is awesome.

After Surgery Number 3

Ivee had a pretty good night last night. Mommy got brave and left Ivee with papaw for the night, while me, daddy, Britt and Ethan went home for a night. The kids are back in school, so we are wanting to try to get back to a somewhat normal existence. When I came in this morning, daddy was already here and Ivee was watching Nemo (her favorite movie). She looked really good, cheeks just a little swollen and reddish. She is sucking on both her thumbs, well, more like naughing on them. We waited a long time for her to be taken to surgery. She didn't have a set time, so it was a waiting game. Around 11:30 a.m., we headed down to pre-op. We found out, after they took her back for surgery around 12:20 p.m., that they needed to add two more procedures. The total surgery time would be between 2 to 3 hours. We got a phone call around 2:00 p.m. saying that her surgery actually started at 5 til 1:oo. Well, she finally came out of surgery at 5:50 p.m.... about 5 hours later. Over all she had the following done: the stiches removed from her head, spinal tap, bone marrow extraction, bone sample extraction, stomach/esophagus binding, opening of sphincter to small intestine, and a gastric (feeding) tube inserted in her abdomen. They did not get to check her central line, like the oncologist wanted them too. We will try to do this at a later date to see if we can get better return blood flow from it. They added the stomach/intestines procedure, cause the oncologist is afraid that once we start chemo and she begins to throw up, that she will aspirate fluid and this could cause fluid in the lungs. Her immune system will be down, so any chance of getting pneumonia would be very bad in her condition. So, the stomach binding and intestines opening will help to stop this from happening. She did great during the surgery, and she is in her room now and still doing fine. Dr. Emran, the oncologist, said that all her test results should be in Monday, and he will also go over the details of chemotherapy treatment that day. We will not be going home before starting chemo treatment. Treatments will probably begin at the end of next week and last 3 to 5 days. By the time we get to go home, we would have been in the hospital for a month. Pray that she heals quickly and with very little pain from the surgery. She was really starting to become more like her old self, and we are sure that she will probably regress. Thanks for the comments, and keep them coming. They mean more than you know. With love, Hope and Emmett

The day before my 3rd surgery

Here is a beautiful picture of Ivee holding my dad's hand post surgery. Isn't it sweet?
Ivee goes back into surgery tomorrow mid-morning for the following: insert a gastric line, get a spinal tap, get bone marrow, get a bone sample, remove the stiches from her head wounds, and check her central line in her belly cause they can't get blood return on it but can push fluids in. The bone scan from yesterday showed that her bones are clear or any growths. It also showed incidentally that her kidneys have reflux. The oncologist said this isn't really anything to be concerned about. It is just something that usually happens in people who have alot of bladder infections.
She had a good night of sleep last night, about 6 hours. That is the best rest she has had yet. And she has been quite restful today. She had a hearing test. Her left ear passed. Her right ear may be affected by the surgery. We won't know yet. We just know it didn't pass today's test.
Her PH test from yesterday revealed that she does have gastric reflux (heartburn). I already knew that from all the times she would constantly spit up on me. So she is on zantac. She is off her antibiotics and no fever has returned. She still has a horrible case of diaper rash, but it is beginning to heal.
She is looking around and reaching for stuff today. That is a great step. Oh, and I forgot to mention that in the middle of all of this, she got her first tooth!
TODAY... she did something we thought we wouldn't see for a long time. She SMILED! Twice.
We truly appreciate all of your comments. They give us encouragement. Paula, thank you for the bit of research you did on her name. Ivee, for those who want to know, is the name of my grandmother, my dads mom, who passed away about a year ago. So her name is very special, just like Ivee is.

2 weeks post 1st surgery

It is 2 weeks post surgery for Ivee. Her head is looking good, and her stiches will come out soon. For those who don't know, her incision on the back of her head starts about 2 inches behind her right ear and travels at a curve down past her neck and shoulders. About 5 inches long. And there is an incision on the top of her head a little over and inch long from the external drainage port they had to put in until her ventricles began to drain the CSF (brain fluid) of her brain like normal brains do. They have done a CT scan of her this past Monday and her ventricles look good. If this continues there will be no need for a shunt (a tube that drains CSF fluid if the body can't naturally do it itself.) I know a lot of my teens out there are reading this, so I want to make sure you are clear. I'll put a lot of explanations in there for you (love you Natalie : )!!!
They have had some trouble with Ivee's central line. They needed labs two nights ago, and they tried and tried to get blood return and couldn't, which is one of the reasons to have a central line... no more sticking. So at 3 am Ms. Ambe (the lab tech) came in and stuck her for blood. (The doctors needed to do blood work to see if the blood transfusion was doing it's job). They got out the door, and 30 minutes later came back in cause the blood they had drawn already clotted in the tube. So this time they stuck her heal instead of her hand. Then after they got as much as they could, which wasn't enough, they tried to get blood return on her central line just "one more time" and of course got blood. After all that.
Ivee is almost at the end of her 24 hour PH test to check the acidity of her digestive system before they can put a GI tube in (feeding tube). More than likely Dr. Powell, the surgeon will perform the GI surgery, will want to do a GI test before the surgery. A GI test looks and sees what the whole digestive system is doing from start to finish.
Today she is having a bone scan and hearing test. She is on morphine for pain and benadryl for itching, and she is on 5 other medications...Antibiotics, steroids, a medicine to relax the stomach, and a medicine to dry up secretions. And since she can't eat, she has TPNs and Lipids going into her central line for nutrition. (those are nutrients and fats)
She had a really ruff night last night, and today her central line is oozing. So the surgeon had to come in and fix it. She and mommy didn't get much sleep.
I have my ups and downs. Most of my downs come at night when I am alone and lacking any descent sleep. The Lord has his moments of reminding me he is still in control, but in my human mind many thoughts come and go. I try to cling to Psalms 40, especially verses 1-3. "I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and hear my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put trust in the Lord."
We are in room 510 at USA. Our room phone number is 415-1510. Sometimes we answer and sometimes we are in the middle of something. We like visitors, but you may need to call first to make sure we are there. She has many test that happen, so sometimes we are not in the room.
Thank you once again for your prayers and thoughts, and for the many gifts and visits. We know we are loved!!!!!!

Beginning week 2

(This is a picture of me my 2nd day in the hospital, before my first surgery. The bruise on my forehead is the only thing I received from the fall)

(This is post first surgery)

(This is Saturday after my second surgery)

Ivee had a ruff night last night. We believe she is in pain, but we just can't know since she can't tell us. The doctor prescribed morphine and it would allow her to rest for about 2 to 3 hours, but then she would begin crying again. The doctor came back in and Emmett was holding her, which after 20 minutes she would calm down. Em just told the doc...I could guess all night what is wrong with her, but neither I or you can know. All I know is she calms down when I hold her, and back before this, when she had headaches and we didn't know it, holding her would give her enough comfort to help her sleep. The doctor agreed and said... well we know you can't hold her all night, so she prescribed morphine and needed. That helped from 4 am to 8 am. The doctor then came in at 8:30 am and told us that Ivee's red blood cell count is low. It should be between 12 and 15 and hers is at 6.9. She was going to require a blood transfussion. Dr. Martino, the neurosurgeon, came into check on her, and we asked what he thought caused her lack of blood cells. He does believe it is the two surgeries she has endured over the last 14 days.
So, as of right now, Ivee is getting a blood transfusion, and reacting to it well. As with all blood transfusions, there is risk of rejection and infection. Problems are usually noticed in the first 15 minutes, and it has been an hour. She is resting and doing well.
Tomorrow she'll have a PH test to check the acidity in her digestive system. This will ade in the decision on her GI (digestive) line to get her food. That surgery will probably be done with all the others will be done sometime this week.
This is what is happening today. I keep a journal of what is going on with Ivee everytime something happens. If anyone want to leave a comment or ask a question just click below to leave a comment. Thanks for your prayers, and keep on praying.

God is in Control

Alot of you already know what has happened to our family these past two weeks, but for the unedited whole story up to this point...here it is... and you'll have to excuse typing mistakes...it is late and this is long
Emmett had been in Texas for two weeks, planning to come home in 6 days. I struggled with Ivee and Brittney's health while he was gone. Ivee had bronchilitis the week before, and Brittney had aches and fever over the weekend that ended with vomiting for two days. I made an appointment for her to go to the doctor and get something to help her stop, so she would not dehydrate. I was a little early to the appointment, so just a moment down the road I stopped at Fred's to go in and get something, I think it was an outfit for Ivee since the weather was getting colder. She was buckled into her carseat and I sat it on top of the grocery cart like I had done with my other two kids when they were little. She was calm and good the whole time. As we were leaving the store, I moved to the front of the cart to throw something in a trash can. As I turned back to get more trash out of the cart, for no reason at all, I saw Ivee and her car seat about a foot from the ground (face down). All of a sudden my baby had hit the concrete face first. I freaked out!!! to say the least. I turned her seat over, horrified at what I would see. As I turned her over, she didn't move. I saw a scratch on her head that began to rise immediately. She then moved and began to cry. I ran to the car, got her in, ran a red light, and headed straight to the doctor's office where two of my friends who are doctors work. Dr. Lynn Porter, one of those friends, came in. I was on the phone with Emmett trying not to lose it. We had trouble getting her to want to stay awake. Lynn said she thought Ivee might have a slight concussion, so she would call Thomas Hospital (20 minutes away) so they would know we were coming.
I drove well, but fast to Thomas. I called Tony and asked him to help me with Brittney, who was still sick and trying to keep her mom calm. Tony called me back on the way to try to calm me down. I finally got to Thomas (30 minutes later). Greg Porter, Tony and Chad, and Angela came in after. Well, skip a few minutes. We got to the back and they sent us for a CAT scan. I stood by her side while they strapped her in. All of a sudden a piece and feeling came over me. Something inside me said, "She'll be fine from the fall, but they will find something else." I watched the monitors as they ran the scan, and I saw something I thought was strange, but then again, I've never seen a scan of the brain before. My friend Dr. Sammy Saleeb is the radiologist at Thomas, and it was his first day back from vacation. He called me in and asked if Ivee had any health problems. I said no. He asked if she could sit up. I said, no and that it had been bothering me lately that she couldn't being that she is over 7 months old, but no one else seemed worried about it. He showed me the spot that I had seen earlier, and said that it shouldn't be there and he wanted to do an MRI cause they are more detailed. Well, we'll make this shorter. We did the MRI, she slept all the way through it. Sammy came and told me that she would need to be transferred to Sacred Heart or USA C&W, and that we would need to talk to a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. Sammy called around and found Dr. Anthony Martino at USA. So, we transferred there. Hours later, Martino came into PICU, and he told me that he would want to do an MRI of her spine to see if anything was in there. He would also have to probably biopsy it to make sure of what it is. It is common of an epidermoid in that part of the head. That is a cyst. That would be the first on his list. Last on his list would be an infection, cause there would be more symptoms.
Emmett flew home in his Toyota Echo from Texas in 5 1/2 hours.
Tuesday they did an MRI, and Martino said it was a little more detailed than the one from Thomas. So he had Ivee scheduled for the 3rd surgery of the day on Wednesday. He would go in an remove all that he could and then biopsy it.
"Whoa...wait...this is all moving too fast!!!" Wednesday came. They took Ivee into surgery at 2:30 p.m. Over 30 people came to be with us during this time, and many people who couldn't called. We were told the surgery would last 3 to 4 hours. 5 hours later at 7:30 p.m. doctor Martino came out to talk to me and Emmett. Ivee had come through the surgery just fine. She had a tumor, that from the look of it favored a PNET. He informed us at that time that she would require chemotherapy, so we knew that from the look of the tumor, he knew it was malignant. The tumor had been wrapped around the nerves that control facial movements on the right side, her right eye, and swallowing. He left the nerves in tack, but they are still irritated, so there would be some problems with these thing. It was hard to hear, but Emmett and I knew God was in control.
(This is about 4 days after 1st surgery)
To skip a bit, Ivee has been doing fine. She had her breathing tube out after just a day and half. That was really good. Her eyes were very, very crossed, and she can't "speak". It has gotten better but she is still hoarse. Her eyes look a whole lot better and she is focusing better now. The swelling is gone, and her wounds look good. She's been tied down to the bed so she won't pull other tubes out, but three days ago, she got free while they were putting a foley in to collect urine. She pulled her feeding tube out. They couldn't get another one in cause her stomach is closed up. So she hadn't eaten any nutrition for two days. She had surgery yesterday to put in a central line so that she can receive TPNs and Lipids for nutrition right now. Yes, this means she still can't swallow. She is taking to the pacifier now, and that is good. We'll just have to wait to do another swallowing test to see if she has progressed any further.
There have been a lot of issues since the surgery, but over all, she is progressing well.
Now for the diagnosis. It took 10 days to get an answer from Pathology. She has Anaplastic Ependymoma. It is an aggressive stage 3 cancer that affects the ventricle and lower back part of the brain, but also arise higher in the spinal cord. Usually kids with this cancer are diagnosed cause of vomiting, headache, and balance problems. This explained the reason she couldn't sit up. Also, it could explain the reason we thought she "Spit up" a lot. There were also times that she held her head funny, as if she was trying to relieve a lot of pressure. The signs were there, but no one would have run a CT scan for not sitting up. You can't ask a baby if their head hurts. So, if she had never fallen from that cart, we would have found the tumor, probably, too late. The surgeon, Martino, said that 2 months from now this would have been a different story with a much different outcome. Praise God she fell. Who would have ever thought I'd praise God for that.
Well, I'm going to try to finish quickly and talk more later.
This coming week, we'll run more test, and soon start Chemo. Dr. Emron, her oncologist is working on a plan, contacting all the oncologist in the North American region in the network. This cancer is rare, and ever more rare in babies Ivee's age. She'll probably be part of a clinical trial.

We covet everyone's prayers, and leave your comments of encouragement. I'll try to update everyday with her progress. WE love you ALL!!!!

Ivee gets the juice

hi daddy, I can breath better now. This is me getting my juice fix. I took it pretty good last night, and slept all night again. i can't wait to see you. ethan and britt sing tonight, so i am going to see them. mommy said she would tape it for you. hopefully ethan will be as funny as he was that other time. you know, after pastor joel came...? while i was still in mommy's tummy...? well, i remember. Love you and see you in 9 days.

It's Been a While

I've tried to update earlier in November but the site was always down...So anyway. The Gift was great. I wish everyone could have seen it. Brittney was completely awesome. We got to preview what the DVD will look like, and it is so clear and the audio is great. We are so glad that we had it professionally filmed.
Well, the family is great. Emmett left this past Monday for a month in Texas (for his job). He'll get to come home for 3 days at Christmas. We miss him alot. The kids are being a help to mommy right now...most of the time.
We have a new addition to the family. This is a picture of Berry. My daughter, Britt not Ivee, suckered her mom into taking her home and "trying her out." She belonged to an older couple that was moving to Europe and couldn't take her with them. They were going to put her to sleep, cause they couldn't bring themselves to take her to the pound. A friend of mine stopped them from doing that and promised that she would find her a good home. She is a sweet dog. She's a 9 year old Terrier, so I warned Britt that she is older and she could live just another year or five years, and that she would have to be prepared for that.

Here are some pictures of Ivee. She is 7 months old today. In the second picture she is in her crib watching T.V. She loves Nemo. My other kids watched T.V. also, but nothing like Ivee does. She is very attentative. She just takes everything in.


I'm going to try to get her to watch another movie other than Nemo though. I seriously have the whole thing memorized. I think it is the bright colors that draw her into that one.







These are some pictures from the play. You'll have to forgive the quality. They are shots from the DVD. I would let it play through my computer, pause it and take the picture with a digital camera. So, it's truly a picture of a picture. Here Ernie and I are preparing the set. We made a stone wall out of foam. It was messy and fun.

Ivee gets free with her food!

Ivee has learned to eat her food very well now. Above, this is after I have already cleaned her up a little. She likes prunes, and she likes Apple/Prune Juice. She does not care for White Grape juice. She likes to put her hands in her mouth constantly. She observes everything and loves to watch the t.v. This past Wednesday she rolled over for the first and last time. She hasn't done it since. I guess when she realizes it will get her somewhere, or get her what she wants, she'll do it more. Well, this was a quick Ivee update. I'm going to upload some pics of dad's vacation out west with Uncle Wesley. So, get back to me on that soon.

The Gift

In a season where people long for miracles, a little girl's unconditional love touches the lives of everyone she meets, and gives new meaning to one man's life, teaching him to live again and how to truly BELIEVE!

(This is the picture I created for all the publications of the play. Everyone says it doesn't look like Brittney, but it is her. I took the picture in my boss's office, and had to create the busy street scene and the man. I'm proud of this one, if I can say so myself : )

We are preparing for our Christmas Production of "The Gift." It's based on the best selling novel Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury. We performed this production last year, and had an overwhelming response from the public, and many decisions where people realized their need for a Savior, and submitted to the Lord's call in there life. Brittney (pictured above) appeared in the play last year, as she will this year, and last year a great story of how God uses us took place. After the first performance on Friday, a man came up to her afterwards and said, "Because of you I found the Lord tonight." I know Britt may not understand what that means now, but one day she will fully understand. She'll realize that though she was nervous, scared, and out of her comfort zone, God used her willingness and obedience in a great way. I encourage any of you that if you are anywhere near Spanish Fort, AL on December 2nd or 3rd, join us for an experience that will encourage you and touch your heart forever. It begins at 6:00 p.m. For more information, go to my churches website. www.faithfamilyonline.com. We are still working on it, but it should be up soon. I'll give more information to my friends and family later. Love to all!

Update

Sorry, it has been a while since I've blogged. With being back at work and Christmas everything coming, it stays busy around here. That, and Emmett and I never stay at home.
Below are some new pics of the fam.

Here are Britt and Ethan swimming at my friend Diane's daughters birthday party. I saw Di's gma for the first time in about 13 years. It was cool being back there again.



Here are pics of Ivee and Paw-paw. She is getting sooo big and she looks alot like her daddy!

She is laughing so hardy now and she takes in everything. She watches everything including t.v. She is trying to roll over, but sincerely I think her butt is too big! : )
I'll update a little more information later this week.
Take care, and Yeah, Deb is having a girl. I have 7 pregnant friends now. Crazy.

The latest

Here are some new pictures of Ivee. She has learned to smile and laugh. She is so big now. 12 lbs 3 oz and 24 inches. Also, here are some pics of the big kids swimming in Jacksonville in July and at a friends home this past weekend.

Just realeased from the Hospital, AGAIN!

So, I just got out of the hospital for the third time this year. This time, gall bladder. I had two attacks after I had Ivee, and after an ultrasound 6 weeks ago, my doctor confirmed I had gall stones. He put me on Protonix, and it has been working great up until this past Monday. I woke up early (12:20 a.m.) on Tuesday morning and was having another attack. My past attacks never lasted more than an hour. Well, by 3:00 a.m. I told Emmett to call my doc and see if going to the emergency room would do any good. The doctor on call told me to go in and that they would have to take my gall bladder that day. So, I did go in and by 6:00 a.m. they gave me demerall for pain. (however you spell it). Well, Em wishes he had a video camera, cause within 10 seconds of that shot, I was tripping...good! They admitted me, and that evening I had emergency gall bladder surgery. So, now I am in recovery at home, with four holes in my stomach. Trying to take care of Ivee is not easy, but Em is at home with me for the week. So, I am still nursing her, but have to take it pretty easy. What a summer! I mean I just got back to work, and here I am again out. Guess I'll see how valuable I really am : ) ! Well, remember me in your prayers that I will recover well and get back to work next week. Remember Ethan too, cause next Tuesday he has to have a tooth pulled. This is his first extreme dental episode. Love everyone. take care!

Trip to Jacksonville

Ivee's first time in the swimming pool. She did NOT like it!

Ivee and Aunt Kim

Ethan watchin DVD's in the car and being "O so good!"

Ethan and Britt passed out in the car.


Ivee asleep in the car.

Ivee on Sonia's balcony with her binky. Sonia so gracously taught her to love it in only two days. THANKS! : (


My last night there, I had 2 bed buddies. Yes, there was no room for me to sleep!

Well, we just got back from visiting Aunt Sonia, Uncle Cris, Whitney, Aunt Kim and Terri in Jacksonville. It was a short trip but I had a really great time. It's fun to get together with family. Ivee did very well for an 8 week old on her first long trip in the car. Frankly I think she did better than her brother and sister. Ethan and Brittney did do okay on the trip down, but on the way back Whitney came with us. The three in the back seat, even with a DVD player showing movies and with head phones, was still extremely loud. They don't get the concept that you don't have to yell with head phones on and if you are talking to someone else with headphones on they can't hear you. Then there was the, "Stop touching me! your on my side!" stuff.
For those of you who keep up with my blogging, I have a couple of prayer request. Ethan has an extremely bad abcessed tooth. He is on a second round of antibiotics to knock out the infection, and once it is gone the tooth will have to be pulled. Ethan has never even had a cavity, so I am hoping he doesn't freck out that his first dental problem is a slightly big one. I know I would be scared at the age of six to have that needle coming towards my mouth. Luckly he doesn't know what is going to happen yet, so I'm not getting the nervous jitters out of him everyday, having the anticipation of what is to come.
Also, I have a big discission to make within the next week. I'm really struggling with which way to go. I know what my heart wants, and I know what would be best, but there are things that I would have to give up, some good, some bad, and there are things that I would enjoy and dislike about both sides. I know this sounds a bit confussing, but it will make sense someday to most of you. I am just waiting for confirmation from God, cause I don't want to go anywhere he doesn't want me to go, or do anything he doesn't want me to do.
And lastly, Ivee is getting over a cold, so keep her in mind. It is so hard to be congested when you are only two months old and you don't know how to blow your nose.
Thanks and love to everyone.

Here are new pictures of Ivee. She is really starting to getting chunky. It is adoreable.

Pics of Ivee

This is Ivee Isabell while still in the hospital. One of the first times that daddy got to hold her. She has changed alot since then. I'll update the pictures as soon as I take some new ones. She is doing great. She is now 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. Still 1 1/2 inches and 1/2 a lb away from the size and weight that Ethan was when he was born. When I hold her, I can't believe that I ever delivered a baby bigger than she is now. She seems huge!

Below is a more recent picture of Ivee with daddy at home.

I don't know if I blogged this before, but at my three week check up the doctor confirmed that I have gal stones. This we discovered when in the two weeks after I had Ivee I suffered two gal bladder attacks. They are horrible. You know what I mean if you have ever had one. So, eventually I'll have to have my gal bladder out. I'm going to wait until Ivee is a little older, and when there is time. I'm on meds, so I just pray I don't have another attack. If I have too many more, I'll go ahead and get it done just so I don't have to go through with the pain.

Hope everyone's doing well. Pray for me as I have to go back to work next week. I've enjoyed the time off, and am getting the chance just to be a mom and wife. Now I have to share myself again. Take care...

THE BABY IS HERE!!!

For those who don't know, baby Foley 3 is here. We had a baby girl, "Ivee Isabell Foley." She was born on Monday, May 8th at Mobile Infirmary at 7:14 p.m. weighing 7 lbs, 20.5 inches. She had a ruff entry into the world though. When she was born, the cord was wrapped around her neck, and fortunately the doctor cut it quickly. In the process, though, she breathed in fluid in her lungs, and swollowed about 15 cc's, which had to be pumped from her stomach. I didn't get to hold her, cause she had to be sent straight to an oxygen "hood" cause her breathing and oxygen consumption were not so good. Over the next day, she continued to decline in breathing effort. She keep breathing to hard and heavy, and by Wednesday, she was worn out. She honestly scared her daddy and me. A doctor from USA Children's and Women's Hospital was called in at 3 am on Wednesday morning. By this time, her oxygen was bumped up to 60%. A few hours later at 6 am, another doctor from USA came and told Em and I that Ivee needed to be transfered to USA. So, the transfer unit came at 9 am and brought her by our room to say goodbye. That was the hardest thing I've been through so far in my life.
I was discharged from the Infirmary short of my 48 hours, so that I could go visit Ivee at USA. The Infirmary was very generous and gave me another room on the 5th floor to use as long as needed until Ivee went home.
To cut a long story short...Ivee was in the USA NICU for seven days. She had to be intibated and a feeding tube inserted down her throat. They gave her some surfactant to help ad in her breathing that Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, she was able to go back under the oxygen hood, and when we came back in Friday morning, she was breathing on her own. (at this point, we still weren't able to hold her). When we came in Saturday morning, her night nurse said that he came over to her crib in the middle of the night, and she had yanked the feeding tube out of her stomach and riped the tape off of her face, with no crying at all, so he bottle feed her and she did fine. So, that Saturday, six days later, I finally got to hold her and feed her a bottle. She at this point was Jaundice and had to stay under a lamp until Monday night, and had antibiotics injected two times a day. She had an I.V. in every part of her body, hands, wrist, feet and in the end her head.
Tuesday morning Ethan had K5 graduation, and before we went to see him, we stopped by to see Ivee. We prayed she would be discharged this day, but her nurse said it would probably be Wednesday. Well, after Ethan's graduation, we called to check on her, and her nurse said she was ready to go home. Em and I cryed more in ten days than probably any other time in our lives...out of happiness, and fear, and dispair and pure joy. God was there completely through it all.
Well, that is our beginning journey with Ivee Foley. Visit www.bornatusa.com and click on May 8th, and Ivee Isabell F. and you can see her picture. I'll download more pics later for you to view of her journey. Thanks for the prayers.

Two more Days

Well, since the Foley '3' is not here yet, we are going in Monday, May 8th to the Mobile Infirmary. I have to be there at 6:00 a.m. and they'll start me on a drip at 8:00 a.m. So, the baby will be here Monday. I'm sure I'll post sometime later next week to tell everyone about the new boy/girl in our lives. Stay posted.

It is time!...?

Well, I have been experiencing contractions since last week, but they are coming more regularly now. Today has been a long day for me. The back pain has been pretty consistent. So, everyone who knows and loves me, pray that my water breaks and I can get to the hospital asap. I'll let you know when it happens.