A *BIG* Thank you !!

     Anyone who knows me knows how attached I am to my children !!  I want to be with them ALL the time - even though I can get irritated with them :D  I love having the 3 of you close & knowing what your upto at all times !  Sooo being away from you big boys even during testing was a pull on my heart :(  Thankfully Grandma & a very, sweet, dear friend from high school came to many appointments & helped momma feel comfortable knowing you were in good care while I went with ZC into the testing rooms.  One time in particular I recall - I came out of testing to find that my friend had held ZB & walked him & comforted him as he was way to tired & needed a nap but wanted his momma.  These are the moments I am so grateful for - I have said thank you over & over but really she'll never know HOW grateful I truly am...  

    We did all we could to help you big boys during this crazy time.  I packed play dough & crayons & cars... anything to help pass the time !  My friend brought her daughter to the Children's Hospital too so you boys would have a playmate :)

     Then we have the wonderful friends who brought us dinner into the hospital too - each of you made a sacrifice for us & we are blessed you did !!!!  Another set of friends spent their summer vacation time coming to see us :)  This was very special & really showed us how much you care for our family.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart - I could NOT have done it without YOU ALL !!

My 1st *KiNderGarTnEr* !! ZA :)

ZA(4yrs) & ZC(2mos) 

     A few weeks ago 'we' started kindergarten !!  I was quite nervous about this new time approaching as before this the longest ZA had been away from mom/dad was 3hrs !!  and that was only a few days a week of preschool that we only did for a few months !  So we really didn't have much practice on this being apart thing..

     We took a day a week before school started and as a family toured the school :)  Then we went out for a  lunch of ZA's choice : King Kong - why King Kong ???  Well b/c ZA likes GodZilla & King Kong ... !  So he ordered a hamburger :)  It was the biggest he had ever had !!  He ate every bite of it !  Then we ate DQueen later as it was the day that a portion of the proceeds go to you local Childrens Hospital :D
                   
          Daddy takes you to school & momma picks you up at the gas station bus stops most days.  Sometimes we go inside & eat icecream treats before heading home :D     You are not thrilled about school but also don't mind going !  It's a perfect middle of the road approach !  Only 1 day thus far have you requested to NOT go :)  That was due to you being sooo excited to make putty :)  But I promised we would wait till you got home !  And I explained that if we don't send you to school we can get in trouble with the police...  You quickly sd you should go then !! :)  Your a great big brother ZA we all love you !! We miss you during the day but know you are taking steps toward the future we pray for daily for you !

ZA(5) @ KingKong Restaurant

      

                       

.-.- Weeks of CraZy Days.-.-.

     ZB & ZC - clearly the brotherly love flows already :) :)  So after THE CALL....  started weeks of craziness....  The 1st appointment stands out to me still over a year later.  It was a rainy day & we drove - me & the 3 boys to a specialist out of town...  She took one look at ZC & the information I gave her & sd she was pretty certain he had biliary atresia - a blockage.  The way it rolled out of her mouth seemed harmless -  we FINALLY had a name for what was the cause of the problems !!  I felt about 50% relieved.  Then she sd so I'm sending you to the Children's Hospital right now.  Okay....  there went some of my feeling better feelings !!  I mean I've always heard how hard it is to get into specialists... 
  So thankfully Grandma was with us and she helped corral the big Z's around.   We ran to SO many appointments that I know I  cannot remember each one... My heart & head were spinning out of control I felt...    I was almost praying 100% of my awake moments - which was a lot.....   Just preparing for the tests BROKE my heart...  Here I had this *precious* bundle who loved to eat :) that I had to 'starve' for 4 hours & LONGER for testing - not just once but over & over again !  Yes all newborns love to eat but ZC really loved to eat :D  Well we didn't know why yet..

     So I would manipulate his schedule the best you can for a newborn.  I'd keep him up late, let him sleep a few hours then wake him & play & bathe then eat & put him to sleep in his carseat so it would be one less move on way to hospital...  I did everything in my power to have ZC be happy while not being able to eat... If I was told : "don't feed him after 3:00am then I'd start feeding him at 2:30am so he'd be right at the last minute of opportunity !!!  And I PRAYED non stop !!!!  I prayed for ZC to sleep peacefully   The Lord blessed us each time :)  and ZC did *awesome* barely fussing !!!!  We did get him to take a paci during this time :)  we would sometimes be allowed to dip it into sugar water to help keep him happy during the tests.

     The test I was worried about the most was where we had to withhold him eating for 4hours prior to the test and the entire 1.5hours after testing !!!!  ZC had to lie perfectly still during the test which was lil over an hour & he had dye put in his lil system to see where it would go...  The techniian was not helpful to this very stressful time..  He would tell me things like : he might have :  cystic fibrosis & .... wrong... grrr I later was told he had no grounds telling us that & thankfully he was WrOnG !              

     I stood over the long table and stuck my head right next to your ZC - heads touching :)  I sang in your ears the entire time and prayed over you - You did GREAT !!!!  We were ALL amazed :D  I thank You Lord for every time you answered this momma's heart cry !!