Back at the hospital!!!!

Well after 3 1/2 days at home we are back at Children's Hospital. Last night we headed up to the ER with Little Bug because he was coughing and sneezing terribly and his work of breathing was dramatically increased. Sure enough, that pesky cold that Randy got eventually filtered through me and poor Connor ended up with it as well. They admitted us here at the hospital for observation and we are hopeful that it will only be a few days. Both Randy and I feel terrible that we gave him a cold after only being home for a few short days. The docs tell us that most of this stuff is routine and we can't protect him from colds forever, but it's hard that it had to happen so soon.

Randy is feeling much better, and I on the other hand am feeling lousy!!! On top of this terrible cold, I fell down our stairway in the middle of the night on Wednesday and I feel like my body has been in a car accident. Boy oh boy, when it rains it pours. We must remember that this too shall pass and we will all be on the road to better health soon.

Yesterday before taking Connor to the ER I was able to attend the funeral services for baby Jonah. It was a beautiful rememberance of him and an incredible testimony of his family's faith in God. May we all become better people and may we have deeper relationships with the Lord because of what we walk through here on earth.

All our Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

"Going Home"

Please pray for our sweet friends Dave & Stephanie tonight. Jesus saw fit to call another of our very precious ICU babies home to be with Him in Heaven. Little Jonah went home, as his mom puts it, on Tuesday evening. He was a brave little boy and quite a fighter. I know that all of you have been praying for him as we have requested many times. His story will be one that goes in the history books of Children's Hospital as he was the very first baby ever to be born right there at the hospital. Evening Magazine will be doing a story on him and I will post info once I have it so you can all watch it. I know you will be blessed by the incredible faith of this family in spite of their very complicated circumstances with baby Jonah. His parents never gave up and they placed him in God's hands from the very beginning.

I will attend his service tomorrow. Oh how difficult it is to say goodbye to precious souls. Randy & I had the wonderful opportunity to see him on Saturday when we went visiting all of our hospital buddies to say goodbye and pray with everyone. Let me tell you, Jonah was a delight to lay my hands on and whisper prayers to the Lord for. He looked up at me with his little eyes and I just about melted. I will hold that precious picture in my heart forever. Be healed now baby Jonah and know that you have touched the world with love from above. May you play with our precious baby Michael and baby Stone and may you all know what it is like to giggle and experience God's love first hand.

Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

Never a dull moment......

As many of you know Randy has been fighting off "the crud". Well today I woke up not feeling the greatest. It's the typical soar throat, running nose stuff, but its miserable when all you want to do is kiss all over your babies and you can't!!!! AAUUUGGHHHHH!!!!!! Today had to go on though....We had our 1st pediatrican appt. in almost 4 months!!! We have the greatest pediatrician in the world and he and all of his staff were so excited to see Little Bug!!! He's doing great and the doc says he's looking wonderful!!! We also went over to my grandma's house and Connor got to meet his great grandma for the first time. We experienced many priceless moments as Little Bug snuggled with his great grandma.

Once again, there will be much more to come. We're still settling into life back here at home. It's the first day of summer and I couldn't be happier to pack Little Bug into the stroller and go for a walk. We plan on taking a family walk right after dinner.

I'll write more soon.
Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

Home at last!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was the long awaited day that we have anticipated for quite a while. After 111 days in Children's Hospital, we were discharge to home. We couldn't be happier to be at home with our Little Bug in our arms snuggling on the couch!!! Believe me, we are very aware that we are behind on posting the pictures that we keep promising and there is much to be said about our transition home. I am frantically trying to find my balance, but I will be honest, I am still caught in the whirlwind of it all. On top of coming home, Randy is not feeling well and had to go the doctor today to get antibiotics. He is scared to be around Connor because he doesn't want to get him sick. The doctor assured him that he is not contagious, but we are still being extra careful. I'm taking care of both my boys and it is the best feeling on earth. Thank you Lord for this priceless gift of caring for my family. I will try my hardest to quickly be on the task of catching up with pictures first and then following up with a reflection blog of all that has happened. Please be patient!!! I have MUCH to say!!!! But for now I will keep my post brief and I will say with great jubilation, "We are home, we are a family, and we are thankful to our Lord for this great miracle we have experienced!!"

More to come,
Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

Daddy is the "HAPPIEST DAD"on the face of this earth!

Last night I was surprised by my beautiful wife with the most fantastic Fathers Day gift ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was showered with blessings galore..... sweets...strawberries....cards....nice gifts...but what takes the cake is while I was rocking our littlebug Lori made me close my eyes, she set up something..and when I opened them I was quickly wisked off in time to a place only a Father knows. My heart was flooded with joy at the journey we had been on thus far. And as the story unfolded I realized "I'm a Daddy"...I'm really a Father now.... I know it may sound strange but last night my heart was so moved that I was transformed somehow to see the importance a Father has in life....and especially the life of his family. I've always wondered at times...why our Father in heaven loves us so much...and now I know....if you look through a Father's eyes you'll know why.

So as the story unfolded my eyes were filled with tears...not of sadness but of joy!!! Connor is my son and I love him so much....I've always prayed that God would allow me to take all Connor's pain and sickness on myself and to give him a life free of hurts but.....that's not God's plan right now....maybe just maybe God's plan is to work on Daddy's heart to show him how much love counts and sometime costs...but in the end is worth so much! Connor thanks so much for being my son...in whom I am well pleased! And Lori....my sweetheart....all the love on this earth could not compare to the love I have for you....you make my heart soar!!!!! This gift I will treasure the rest of my life.......the greatest gift of all.....

my beautiful family.....this is what life is all about...my love to you Lori and Connor!
Son...Daddy will teach you all about how God loves you...and that's a promise!
....Oh and yes I'll have to teach you about airplanes too...OK :-)

Love Dad

ps....Honey this truely is the greatest gift of all.... "Thank You"...for making my 1st Fathers Day so life changing...my heart will never be the same!

ps#2....and for all those wondering how I took this trip back in time....well.... Lori had been working very hard during all the moments she possibly could muster up in the last couple of weeks to develop a music video/CD of "Our Family" life...thanks Honey for the hours and hours of work you did to make this so special!!!!!! It is our treasure.....and its in my heart!

I love you Sweetheart....your husband.....
Randy

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!

Hi Dad,

It's me, Little Bug!!! I couldn't wait to wake up first thing this morning to wish you a Happy 1st Father's Day. Did you know that I think you are the best daddy in the whole wide universe? I keep thanking Jesus every day that He placed me into your arms and asked you to be my daddy. Well, actually, I asked Herman, my personal guardian angel to tell Him. I just love our time together. You make me laugh and I like that. Mama can't even get me to gleam in my eyes the way you do. Don't tell her that though because I think she thinks she can!! Hee Hee, it will be our secret!!!! It's a lot of fun to have you as my daddy because you treat me like I'm really something special. When you talk to me and kiss all over me I know it comes from the bottom of your heart and when it spills all over me I get the giggles inside. Sorry I don't show the giggles on the outside yet, but I'm getting close!!

Well Dad, I know you have been praying for me a lot and I really think that God is answering your prayers because I think I'm getting better. Hey, they wouldn't let me go home tomorrow if I wasn't getting better, right? Thanks for asking Jesus to heal me. I know that He love me too, just like you!!

I'm glad you liked your Father's Day gift that me and mama worked on for you. Maybe if mama can figure out how to post videos she can put it up here on my blog so all of our friends can see it. She worked so hard to make it a special gift. She worked on the project with our 2nd cousin Tony and they made a video of me. Wow, it turned out so cool and I thought it was so sweet that you cried when we showed it to you. You have such a tender heart, Dad. I want to be just like you when I grow up....tender on the inside and strong on the outside. Mama says that's what a true man of God is like, so I want to be just like you.

I hope you have a great Father's Day, Dad. I just want you to remember that you are never alone. I am always with you...tucked inside the secret part of your heart that was built especially for me. I love you daddy with all my heart.

Your Son,
Little Bug, Connor