Allergies, Acid Reflux, God's Power

The couch, the blanket, the pillow, the fire, the coffee, the chocolate covered almonds are all luring me over to rest (my husband knows how to treat his lady) but first I needed to give you all an update.

Well, after much prayer, we ended up back in the ER last night.

Gabe had been listless, limp, lethargic.....all those yucky words...all day yesterday.

He just wanted to be held and cuddled and "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
is all that echoes in my head anymore.

At 8:45 last night he started throwing up again

and was so limp and not very responsive. By 10:30, we were headed back down to ER.

He threw up on the way down and Mommy had all she could do to not get car sick.

Next time, Daddy can sit in the back ;)

The doctor there was great....very thorough, explained everything in detail, very personable...truly acted as if he cared for his patient. And those docs are the good ones!

Dr. Austman had called ahead of time and talked to him to explain the situation, so it was

nice having the doctor go-between. She had told us we would like him.

Praise reports: All his labs look great...no infection anywhere! Hallelujah! His urine looked fine too. (we ended up cathederizing him, poor guy) This week we will attemt to get a poop smear I call it. Not a pap smear....poop smear ;) They will check for roto virus. His chest xray was clear this week, so no pneaumonia.

The ER doc totally treated us like we were one of his "in house" patients. It was such a blessing! He asked about smoking, pets, and carpet. No, no and yes. Asthma? Yes....Daddy has it.

Sooooooo.......we are going to attempt to start figuring this out. I took all his stuffed animals out of his room today and we are hoping to rip the carpet out this week. Allergies can trigger asthmatic reactions. Thankfully, the Albuterol nebulizer treatments have kept the wheezing and cough under control. He also started him on Zantac for acid reflux and so far he has kept all foods and liquids down since 12 last night. Thank You, Father!

Dr. Austman called to check on us this morning and said she was up at 5 am wondering and worrying about him. Once again, I feel so blessed that we have a caring doctor for our family.

She would like to start doing allergy testing soon and try to get to the bottom of this. If those show up clear then she would like to send us on to a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying.....we have felt the power and that is what's getting us thru. Thank you to everyone who emailed prayers and sent us wisdom....we are believing that we'll have more answers soon!

We were also blessed last night to have a couple that are missionaries from Panama come by with our Pastor and pray over Gabe. It just happened that they were visiting our church this weekend (we had no idea) and we had called Pastor Kim to come pray because this verse (seen below) kept coming to mind. He was fighting off sickness himself but said, they would love to come with him and do the praying. It was an amazing time. Our kitchen was filled with warmth as they prayed and annointed him with oil. Afterwards, our Pastor said, I felt the healing power come thru. There was no doubt our home had just witnessed another Holy Spirit moment.

They shared stories of how they have seen and raised 9 people from the dead all because they were obedient to the Holy Spirit's prompting and were in agreement with God that they would pray....BELIEVING for a miracle! Dennis stressed to us that our faith is what heals and believing in God to do so. He said the enemy can actually steal healings away from us by placing doubt in our minds that it will really happen. We just have to have a simple, childlike faith. He also said the Greek translation of this verse says whatever we ask for, will be given to us and the second we ask for it, a healing begins. The healing may not always be instant but the process of recovery begins the instant we ask for it. Some healings you can see right away and some take time.

Whatever the case may be with Gabe, we are just thankful that our Heavenly Father knows all, sees all, and is there to hear our prayers and requests. That He loves us, cares for us, and carries us thru these times.

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. " James 5

Prayer Request

Gabe Update:

After 1.5 good days, Gabe started throwing up at 12 AM. So far at 12 pm today he hasn't been
able to keep anything down which means we aren't able to keep the meds in him that have seemed to help at times.

We're just asking and pleading for prayer for him. Please pray for Jason and I too during this time that we are sleep deprived that we can stay focused on Jesus and stay patient and loving with each other.

Please pray for wisdom for our doctors. I spoke with Dr. Austman this morning and again and she is now going to try and rule out cystic fibrosis. Seems weird to us that this wouldn't have popped up earlier in his life, but we know that the list begins that they have to eliminate and check off all the possibilities. Starting this next week we will begin testing and going on to specialists she refers us to.

We are hoping and believing for the best. We are trying to keep our feet on the Solid Rock instead of slipping back into the pit. We keep telling each other God has purpose in this season and we're gonna keep trusting and being thankful for the good days and nights we get.

His symptoms are this:
Lotsa mucus/phlegm being thrown up
throwing up
cough at night time only
smelly, smelly, smelly gas
diarrhea only a little bit, no firm bowel movements
HUGE yellow blowout yesterday (potty training is never gonna happen, i'm convinced)
laying around and listless on the bad days....just wants to be held
never had temperature in the last 2 wks of this

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, we welcome them.

Thankful For...

This Thanksgiving season I'm so thankful for:
1-My beautiful family pictured above....God has blessed me with a never ending adventure!
2-My husband Jason.....
Honey, I don't know what I'd do without you. You are the bestest friend ever. Thank you
for all the times you help out with the kids, around the house, the finances, etc.
There's no one I'd rather laugh with, cry with, fight with than you. I thank God the day He
put you into my life. There has never been a dull moment since ;) I love you most.
3- My parents...
Dad and Mom, thank you so much for ALL you do for us. God knows how much we need you both as we raise our little family up. For all the babysitting, trips to the store, prayers, late night phone calls, helping out the last 2 wks during the "pit of ick", just for "being there" we have never doubted your love for us. We appreciate you and love you so much!
4-For all our family and friends....each one of you have a special place in our hearts.
5- For our Church Family....God has been so good to us when He brought us to Faith Fellowship.
6- For our home, our cars, our clothes, food, running water.....
7- For our jobs......we have never doubted that God would provide financially even when we were down to the nitty-gritty.....Our God is a faithful God
8- For our salvation and Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins

9- for our little Ellie Joy when she came into our lives 1 year ago...

10- For Jason's family....Aunt Emily is so much fun!

11- That our Little Man is finally smiling again....running around....being onery...keeping food down and acting healthy. Thank You Jesus!! It has been a long almost 2 wks.....

12- For family get togethers and yummy food

13- For Jason's brother Matt and Whitney, home from college....the times we are together

and few and far between so it's always a treat to be with them

14- For "Ma-Maw" Cathy....we love you! Thank you for always playing with us!!!

Pictures-Thanksgiving

It's official.....Lil Miss is walking.....ALOT....and getting pretty stinkin' good at it.

Hanging out with Uncle Isaac before going to cemetary.

We headed out to Blake's grave today to release balloons for his birthday.

It was so very beautiful.....

And the neatest feeling to watch the balloons float away to Heaven and know that Blake

had a new body and no more pain.

Thank You Father that even when we don't understand life and the reason for loved ones leaving us too soon that You hold us still and love us thru the pain of letting go.

Gabe Wisdom

Amidst all the icks here, there have been some great moments (although hard).
A friend and I were sitting and crying together one night and having some heart to heart time.
Gabe came up to her and asked, "Do you want a passy?"

A little while later, we were crying again and he asked her if she needed a Kleenex. He proceeded to wipe his nose with it then gave it to her. What a guy ;)

He has the softest heart ever and is such a sweetie. Thank goodness for that and I try to remember it too when he's pulling his crazy stunts like putting a handful of his corn off his supper plate, putting it in his pocket and then it came out in the wash machine....and DID NOT get washed away....I had to pick it all out!!!

I Will Be Still

Well, last night was another long night. From 12-4 am, Gabe was throwing up every hour until
he had finally emptied his poor tummy. The most awful thing was that he wasn't even waking up. He would throw up in his sleep.....it was horrible. I just prayed and prayed.

At 5:30, Ellie woke up screaming, so I checked her pants and she had pooped...and was bleeding. She has had a rash and sore bottom from teething so has been on prescription strength butt cream. It helped one day then it got worse and turned into burns. It's awful when she pees or poops (pardon my bluntness) but she just gets stiff and screams and shakes. So tonite, bless Dad and Mom's hearts....they got some Bag Balm from Big R and we're gonna try that next.

So....I did not go to work today. He didn't throw up at all today but was very clingy and whiney.....and tired. Thankfully Dr. Austman has been very understanding and sympathetic. She called a couple times this morning to try to figure out what we can do to help Gabe. I was very up front with her and asked if this situation had her stumped. She said, in a way yes....she just wants to help him feel better and get to the bottom of this. So she consulted with Dr. Brewer and called back with some solutions. So now he is taking breathing treatments, allergy cough medicine, Mucinex over the counter, and nose spray. I hope and pray one of these do the trick. We're propping him up, running the cool mist machine thingy (my brain is so fried and sleep deprived I can't think of it's name) and he's pumped full meds.....we're praying for healing and answers soonly!

Thank you to my Mom who is an absolute angel.....I don't know what I'd do without you!! I love you more every day and thank God for the gift of you!!! Thank you also to my "Mama friends"....Barb and Marie, specifically for all the helpful advice. And to Pastor Kim and Jennifer for keeping in touch with wisdom and prayers. We love you all and appreciate you so much.

Tonite I heard this song for the first time and it really hit home. Despite the stormy season of life we are in, when I was at the grocery store getting stuff for tomorrow....I was still able to feel excited and thankful for the holiday and getting together with family. God is so good....We have been blessed with so much and I keep reminding myself, things could be worse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgob5afanUg

Still
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me within your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
Find rest my soul In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

Hava blessed Thanksgiving! Love n Hugs...Laura

Pictures-Ellie's Birthday

Ellie's birthday pictures 1 .5 wks later....time flies so fast!

Our little Ellie Joy has brought us GREAT joy!

Her first baby doll with a passy......

Her first dishes...Gabe loves to play with them too ;p

Daniel and Julie's boy Ethan's birthday is the day after Ellie's...we celebrated together

Overwelmed Heart

Well I was to officially go back out into the work world today.
BUT....our son had different plans. After 2 days of feeling good and acting his onery self again,
last night the chunks started flying again. Thankfully for me ;) Daddy got to be the one
that rescued the poor lad.( Honestly.....all Daddies should have to help out with this I think.)
But that's just my opinion. I seriously think it makes a tougher man outa them ;)
So thank you honey, for last night. For letting me get out and hava girls night out and
for being the bestest Daddy ever. We wouldn't trade you for anyone!

So this morning, instead of starting to work with Dr. Austman (our family doc...also pictured delivering baby Jerzee in an earlier post) I headed in so she could treat Gabe. She sent us down to get a chest xray wanting to rule out pneaumonia but it came back negative. Sooooooo....he tried gagging and coughing on me a couple times on the trip to the hospital but I quickly distracted him with looking out the window for tractors. The girls at the hospital did great with giving him a coloring book and crayons and he was fasinated with the cleaning lady, mopping the floor. So seriously......we're just wondering if the drainage he has is just making him extra gaggy. *sigh*

I was actually excited about going back to work after praying about it since this past summer when she orignally asked me. I was so honored, as I had never put an application in, wasn't looking for a job, she just heard I had experience and wondered if I would be interested. At the time, it wasn't right.......but now......I had a peace about saying yes when she asked me again.
So thank You God, for once again providing. You are so faithful to us, Father and we are so humbled by Your mercies.

I have to just stay this: I'm super excited about getting all my scrubs out again after not wearing them for 2 1/2 years! Yipee! And just in time to get out the fun Christmas ones!

I read this today and it just spoke my heart:

"Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings." Psalm 61:1-4

Last night, watching Gabe sleep I was overwelmed with the feeling of: What is it? What is attacking our child's small body? Why does he have to keep going thru this? What if something more major is wrong inside of him....what if...what if....

And God got ahold of me and whispered love and promises yet again:
"Just trust Me. Just trust Me. Just trust Me. I hold him in My arms."
It wasn't much, but just enough for my overwelmed heart to relax and go to sleep,
knowing that my Father is in control of it all and sees even what we can't.
And He will see us thru every season in life. No fretting and worrying will get us anywhere
but in a deeper pit and God is the God of the mountaintops not the pit dwellers.

As for working....we'll see what tonite and tomorrow brings. My hopes are to begin work tomorrow! Yipee!

Pit of Ick

*WARNING* If you have a queasy tummy....DO NOT READ.
If you are a male, you may want to skip reading this post all together.

Well, this Mama Bear is grouchy, tired, and feels like she's been hit by a truck.
We've had the sickies at our house. Lil Miss Ellie is teething so she's had the runny and
icky nose and sore bottom that finally required prescription strength. Thankfully she has
been pretty happy for the most part.

Poor little Gabe has drainage/allergy/asthmatic we're not sure what going on. In the middle
of the nights for the last solid week he coughs and coughs and finally throws up multiple times.
Sometimes during the day also. Finally last night we ended up in the ER as he wasn't keeping
anything down. God bless the nurse that gave us the idea of putting blankets under his mattress to prop it up so when he lays down the drainage isn't so bad. He's back on the nebulizer treatments which always seem to help.

So honestly.....I'm tired of cleaning up puek all day and night a million bajillion times.
I'm tired of doing 10 million loads of laundry all because the puek bucket wasn't close enough.
I'm tired of wiping snotty noses.
I'm tired of cleaning sore bottoms.
I'm tired of feeling tired.
And to top it all off, after not having the womanly curse for almost 2 yrs (one of the blessings
of being pregnant and breastfeeding!!) it has decided to make it's presence in my life again.
When? In the middle of the pit of ick. I already felt like poop on a stick...really!
Could it be any worse!?!?!?!?

Yes....yes it can.
I could be watching my child throw up because of chemo effects and the enemy called cancer.
I could be burying a child because God called them home.
I could be childless and a barren woman, aching for babies to hold in my arms.
I could be a widow, crying at night, missing her loved one.

So really.....I have nothing to whine and complain about.
So this Mama Bear will quit being grouchy....she will suck it up and paste a smile on.
And she will start trusting her Father a little bit better.
And know that He has purpose in all pits of ick.

And in these nights when I have a hard time feeling thankful, I go visit this blog
and know that God hears our every heart cry in EVERYTHING we go thru.
And there's always, always someone out there, fighting a harder battle than me.

http://thelukesponbergfoundation.blogspot.com/

A New Hallelujah

Our home has been blessed....blessed....blessed....the last couple weeks with the sound
of Michael W. Smith's new album. The kids and I can be found frequently dancing around
the kitchen or living room. And let me tell ya....we thought Gabe was a great dancer at 1 yr...
but Lil Miss Ellie is something else! She LOVES to praise God and has already started raising her
hands in worship....this is so amazing to see how quickly the young ones pick this up....and just really blesses my "mama heart."

Take a minute to watch this video....The African Children's Choir are a blessing too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjxtWwi9vbk

Heavenly Father, tonite we just come to You and say yes....We will arise as the church and
we will raise a new hallelujah to You.
We will march down the walls of strongholds and evil that
are attacking our beings and will arise in prayer and awe of You and what You have laid in store for us. In awe of Your power and majesty.
May all we say and do be glorifying to You, Father. We love You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Balancing the Tightrope

This morning at MOPS, we had an amazing speaker, Leslie King, that had some great stuff.
Here's the stuff in a nutshell:

As Moms, we have a huge job in balancing the tightrope and juggling all the balls of parenthood.
(She was so cute, had a rope to demonstrate and she juggled balls)

" Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thess. 5:16-18

*Circumstances and seasons change.....we always have the choice to:
1-be joyful
2- pray continually
3-in everything give thanks
The quicker we decide to choose the positives reactions, the more content we will be.

*You only get one chance to be a mother, so enjoy every season you are in and quit wishing for the next.....it will go all too fast.

*Spending time in the Word, praying continually (conversing with God), singing praise songs around the home, giving yourself grace in the hard moments, and developing your gifts, and giving the juggling balls to God are all ways to help walk the tightrope.

" But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:33-34

*God WILL give you and fill you with enough patience, love, and wisdom to raise your little ones when you SEEK HIM FIRST.

*God created you to be exactly the mother you are to the children He gave you.

12 Steps to Balancing the Tightrope

1-Plan your day ahead of time and expect interruptions
2-Plan your week
3-Schedule your personal life (she really emphasized on getting out with friends/husband)
4-Wake up earlier (funny how often I find this in the Word)
5- Prepare for each day mentally,physically, spiritually (and I also just read this on someones blog...hmmmm, wonder if God is telling me something there)
6-Escape for a weekend QUARTERLY to keep a healthy marriage
(I was surprise by how many moms never leave their kids and get away with the hubbies)
7-Tevo.....I didn't catch this one, we don't have TV, so don't even know what it is...someone out there, educate me?!?!?!
8-Stay organized
9-Be satisfied with what you have--quit comparing yourself to other women
10-Recognize everything is not perfect
11-Remember you are in charge....not the kids!!! You be the parent!
12-You're not alone...God is always there.

To all you Moms out there reading this, I pray it blesses you as it did me! Love n Hugs...Laura

Pictures-Jerzee Kole

Proud Papa Jason

Last night I was given the incredible oppurtunity to help my friend bring her baby into the world. I got to the hospital at 6:45 pm and little Jerzee Kole Martin came at 8:33 pm. It was an amazing experience....and so very beautiful. After having epidurals with her first 2 kids, Niki decided to go all natural (which I'm a HUGE supporter in this!)....she did awesome!

She was a couple weeks early but came out perfectly healthy! What a blessing....

And here is our fantastic Doc.......she is mine too and we LOVE LOVE LOVE her!

First Mama and Baby moments.....

Horrible picture of me.....I was in the midst of blinking.

Gramma Carol was there with us too.....Proud siblings, Jayla and Jaxson can't wait for her to come home!!! Thank you Jason and Niki for allowing me to be a part of this special time. Our prayer is that Jerzee would grow up to be a beautiful and Godly woman. We love you!

Craziness

Well, for the record.....my hubby is right. In all our "busy" ness, we are going crazy!
We have entered a REALLY busy season of life and it probably won't slow down until after the holidays. Soooooo.......my goal is to try to be more careful how much I schedule so Jase and I still get our time together. I didn't realize until today how stressed it makes us when we don't have quality time.

So thank you honey.....
-for being patient with me even when I continue to gallavant around the countryside
- for loving me even when I get the kids home late and that shortens "our time"
-for putting up with all my yelling and grouchiness
-for communicating to me about what is important for us
-for still holding me close at the end of the day even when I didn't make much time for you
-for getting up last night with Gabe and sticking it out for hours
-for telling me I'm beautiful even when I don't feel like it
-for being the amazing husband and Daddy you are.
-for loving me still despite all my flaws

I'm so thankful that even when we're going crazy we can get back to God and love and know
what is truly imporant in our lives right now.

"Neglect the whole world rather than each other." Steve Arterburn

Pictures-We've Been Busy

We've been busy doing all kinds.....Here is my little cowboy doing what he loves best. And this outfit was all his doing ;)

We've been making tents

Our little sunshine girl

This is what he calls his water car....he drives loads of things around

One day I found him inside the pack n play acting like Ellie.....great.

And yet another day I found these 2 emptying out his dresser...once again.

Here you can see Ellie pointing at their mess.

Jason's" Concert Choir" Fall Concert..tallest kid on top row is also tallest bball player for PC

(Jason talked my brother Isaac into taking Chorus his senior year...yahoo!)

The "Treble Choir"....both groups did an amazing job. Good job Honey! I'm so proud of you!

The painting crew.....we finally found someone else as tall as Josh

Just kidding.....I've never met a women that tall.

Dad, Joshua, Nickole and I had alot of fun painting the new shop.

The greatest electrician ever.....

At first we were going to use a sprayer to get the job done, then decided we would do it the hard way....rolling.

Thanks Nickole for all your help~~ We are getting spoiled having you around all the time.

You are officially adopted into our family. Every morning Gabe gets up and first thing he asks

is "Where's Kole?" No more, where is Pa-Pa?

Yeah, she says...Forget the dolls....Gimmee a tractor anyday!

They are the best little play buddies ever.

Hava great weekend!