Goodbye Bacteria!

I love the fact that there's time for me to blog today. That means that things are quiet, uneventful, and free of sickness :) Last weekend was absolutely none of the above. Eli was sick for the first time...and it wasn't exactly the 'typical cold.' Last week was such a blur. I worked a few days, and by Thursday I was ready for a few normal days at home with my little guy. Of course Thursday was just the beginning of 7 straight days of misery. It all started with a minor upset stomach for Eli, that led into a bloody messy diaper and fever, which then carried us from the pediatricians office straight to the children's hospital in Savannah. They admitted us straight into the Pediatric Surgery Unit(PSU). We were pretty confused as to why we were there, and also thought that it all seemed a little extreme. Eli just wasn't acting that sick yet. Our pediatrician had been consulting with 2 Dr's in the PSU since that morning, and they weren't comfortable with letting Eli go through the weekend without ruling out the worst case scenarios. They were very worried that Eli was suffering from Intussusception. Here's a quick medical lesson..

What Is Intussusception?
"Intussusception occurs when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. When this occurs, it creates an obstruction in the bowel, with the walls of the intestines pressing against one another. This, in turn, leads to swelling, inflammation, and decreased blood flow to the intestines involved.

The most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children between the ages of 3 months and 6 years, intussusception:

•occurs most often in children between 5 and 10 months of age (80% occur before a child is 24 months old)
•affects between one and four infants out of 1,000
•is three to four times more common in boys than in girls"

When we arrived at the hospital, we had no idea that we would be in for an overnight stay. After a long talk with the Dr's, they agreed that Eli didn't look sick enough to keep overnight, as we could monitor and hydrate him from home. As long as the results of his abdominal xray and blood work came back fine, they would discharge us.
After many ours of poking, and no sleep, they let us go home.

Needless to say, after a LONG 7 days, Eli is now on the mend :) He tested positive for Salmonella. Gross, I know. I've become an absolute nut case about hand washing and cloroxing. I have the dry and cracked hands to prove my recent insanity! I'm trying not to let it drive me crazy, because we'll never really know exactly where he picked it up. We're just so glad to have our happy boy back. Our house just wasn't the same without his contagious laughs and giggles.

On a lighter note, we took Eli to his first football game on Friday night. He was a HUGE fan! Again, it must be in his blood :)




Here's Eli all dressed & ready for church in his new outfit from mimi :)



Thats it for now, I'll update in a few days with more pictures. Thanks for all of your prayers for our little guy!

No Peas, Please!

After Eli's 4 month appointment, she gave us the go ahead to start introducing solid foods. Obviously, we started with green vegetables, and you can see for yourself how that went! Not a huge fan, YET, but we're determined to get him use to them. We just may have to get a little creative. Oatmeal and pears are currently his favorite breakfast foods.



We have been dieing to try out his big boy highchair, and finally decided to let him break it in. He looks so teenie tiny in it, but oh so cute :)



Ready for some REAL food!



Eli was starting to get a little bored with his toys here, so we borrowed an exersaucer from a friend. Needless to say..it has brought us many laughs! Daddy always seems to get the best ones out of him :) Enjoy this video!



Right before bathtime is Eli's absolute favorite time of day right now. He LOVES being up on the kitchen counter for some reason, and we always spend a good 10 or 15 minutes just enjoying our happy happy boy. As soon as you lay him down, his arms and legs start going and the giggles are never ending!



Dan and I are excited to have our first 'baby free' date night tomorrow! It's only been 5 months since our last one!

Two Years Ago Today...

Two years ago today, we said goodbye to my precious daddy. It was all so unexpected, and happened way too fast. None of us ever imagined having to say goodbye so soon. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. I have this fear that I will forget what life was like when he was here, or the sound of his voice, or the way he looked. The last time I saw my dad, he didn’t look like himself. He had miraculously made it through a 10 hour surgery, and was begging us with his eyes to let him go. We told him that he would be alright, he would come through this, and he shook his head telling us no. We are thankful that we were able to spend this time with him in between surgeries, because his body just couldn’t take anymore.

I will never forget the look on the Doctor’s face when he came to give my family the news. One look, and the words “I’m so sorry,” and life would never be the same again for us. It’s just not something that you could ever prepare yourself for.

If I could have just one more talk with him, there are so many things I would say. If I could just see the joy that Eli would bring to him. If he could just call me ‘baby girl’ one more time. He was such a lover, and never let a day go by without pouring it out on his family. I sob uncontrollably as I write this, wanting so badly to wrap my arms around him. I’ve spent a lot of time this week looking through old pictures of my dad. What wonderful memories he has left me with, that I can’t wait to share with Eli. We can’t wait to tell him about his Papa that is up in heaven. It just breaks my heart that Eli will never be able to know him as we did.





It’s easy to say ‘what if,’ but we know that the plan for his life was in much greater hands. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he’s in better hands now. No more aches, or pains, or the stresses of today.

Losing my dad, just 5 short weeks before our wedding day, was an absolute test of faith. You can only ask WHY so many times, before it really hits you. I was able to trust in what God’s word says, even when the circumstances made no sense at all. The sorrow was and is still there, but the trust I have in His future promises is even greater. I never dreamed that I would walk down the aisle with any other than my dad, and I never imagined that he would miss the birth of my first born. But it’s as if he was right there, on both occasions. I’m so thankful for the people that were put into my life, to help guide me through such trying times. I lost a father, and the very next month gained a husband that vowed to love me unconditionally. When Danny asked my dad for my hand in marriage, he said, “Only if you promise to love her as much as I do.” We cling to those words, and always will.

This is the day that Danny asked my dad...



Who knew that this would be our last dance



Here are some lyrics to one of my absolute favorite songs…

“I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...”

I look at Eli today, tears in my eyes, and a big smile on his face, and know that he was sent to serve a big purpose. This day is a little bit easier this year, now that we have a little piece of heaven to hold onto and love with all of our hearts. Thank you Lord for lending us such a sweet sweet blessing!