Hey everyone,

I've debated on whether to put this on the blog or not, but I figure you can never get too much prayer.  With that said, I'm going to ask you all to pray for more healing for Burke.

I got a call from Dr. Miller's office this morning, and it seems that she is suspicious that Burke may have a partial cleft palate.  That gurgling noise I hear when he eats?  And the spit up and milk that comes up through his nose when he eats?  Apparently those are indicators that the passage way is not closed between his throat and nose.  It also explains some of the trouble we've been having with breastfeeding.

Anyway, she isn't sure, and she has specifically asked me not to worry.  She scheduled an appointment for Burke with the Riley Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists.  We'll be going down to Indy on January 20 to find out exactly what we're dealing with.

Thankfully it seems that the worst we'll be facing is one or two surgeries.  It may not even come to that.  Obviously, if he does have a cleft, it's not a complete cleft.  Those are the most severe types, so we're very blessed that, if he has a problem, it is on the minor end of the scale.

Anyway, I was definitely taken back this morning when I got the call.  I thought that maybe he just had an immature valve or sphincter (like with his reflux.)  I didn't realize that she was suspicious of something more serious.

I'm not worried...I'm just adjusting to this news.  I'm very thankful that I have great doctors and that I live so close to wonderful specialists, like the doctors at Riley.

Just pray that we would handle this situation in the way that pleases God the most.  If complete healing is in His plan, that will be wonderful!  If not, we'll roll with it...just like always!  :)  He's got a plan for this little guy, and it's taking more shape each day.  I still stare in awe at my little boy who was never supposed to able to take a breath of life.

I can't thank God enough for Burke.  And I can't thank you all enough for your prayers.  :)

I'll keep you updated as soon as we know more!

There's a problem with planning to write a post on priorities:  It all of a sudden causes you to *really* focus on your priorities.  LOL!  All of a sudden, blogging gets pushed way down the list!  The laundry sits in a crumpled pile, patiently waiting to be folded.  The dishes stay quietly stacked, waiting to be put away.  The children play (or sleep) contentedly, reminding you of the importance of quality time with them.  The husband helps around the house without any prompting, unintentionally encouraging you to stay more on top of the household chores.  Friends pop into your mind, in need of an encouraging e-mail or phone call.

Like I said...all of a sudden, blogging gets pushed way down the list.

Except that, the whole time I'm accomplishing my higher priorities, my mind is screaming, "I wanna blog!  I wanna write!"  :)  Which seems to indicate that, perhaps, blogging is a priority for me.  So here are the thoughts (regarding priorities) that have been rolling around in my head:

It started on Sunday morning with Pastor Randy's sermon.  It continued on Sunday evening in small group.  And now it's stuck in my head.  Remember the last time something got stuck in my head?  I was thinking about faith: having faith, being faithful, speaking faith, acting in faith.  Well, the next day, my son was born eight weeks early after finding a fatal heart rhythm during an ultrasound.  And four hours after he was born?  My pastor asked me to step into the lead member position of our church's women's ministry.  God put faith in my heart, because He was getting ready to ask me to step out in faith and rely on faith in a way I had never experienced before.

Now, priorities are stuck in my head.  It is no surprise whatsoever.  Why?  Because my life is full of potential distractions right now...and the holidays are *right* around the corner.  We talked about distractions during small group on Sunday night, and that's what brought all my thoughts into focus.

Distraction (n.) : that which distracts, divides the attention, or prevents concentration.

How's that for broad and unspecific? :)  The truth is that anything can become a distraction.  Even good, beneficial, healthy things can become distractions.  Your family, while being a *very* good and beneficial thing, can be a distraction, especially if things are a little chaotic or disorganized.  Like us right now!  We just added a new member, and he's got some special needs.  Ruby just got diagnosed with a condition that requires a breathing treatment four times a day.  Mike's finally starting to settle into his new career, and I'm realizing that it is about darn time for me to get our family on a schedule!  :) 

Getting married, buying a new house, or having a new child are exciting and momentous occasions.  Those events also have huge potential for becoming a distraction.  Starting a new job or accepting a new position can be exhilirating and promising.  Once again, however, the potential for distraction is immense. 

Those are major life events.  The little things have just as much (if not more) potential to become distractions: television, video games, internet, books, crossword puzzles, laundry, dishes, magazines, and on and on...

Or how about this one?  A lack of motivation.  Do you know how distracting a lack of motivation can be?  I am constantly amazed at how much time I can waste, when I'm just not interested in doing anything productive.

Or take the opposite alternative...too much motivation!  Do you constantly add another event, responsibility, hobby, activity, or pass time to your plate or schedule?  Overloading yourself obviously becomes a distraction.

It's nice to be distracted sometimes.  Distraction is a tool I use with Ruby when she's misbehaving.  However, distractions can be harmful, and that's what I want to avoid in my life.

Distractions divide my attention between things that add to my life and things that detract from my life.  Distractions prevent me from concentrating on how I can use my time most wisely.  Worst of all, distractions divert my focus from the important things in life.

So how do we fight distractions?  I'm sure that all kinds of people have all kinds of different theories.  For me, however, I think I simply need to explicitly remind myself of my priorities. 

So...this post was obviously more about distractions than priorities.  Priorities are coming tomorrow.  (I promise.  Blogging is one of my highest priorities for tomorrow.)  :)

For now, however, I have promised my husband some quality time, and that is a higher priority than blogging.  :)

Love to all!

You go, Campbell Brown.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/17/campbell.brown.lobbyists/index.html

Ruby has developed a new fondness for her lovies: Duckie and Blankie.  They even eat snack with her:



By the way, we're still working on "smiling" for the camera:







Ruby also loves swinging in Burke's swing.  It has slowed down noticeably in the past week.  I don't know if it's her weight or the batteries...





Lastly, remember when Ruby got RSV and we had to do the albuterol treatments for the first time?



Well, what a difference now that we're doing albuterol treatments for asthma.  Daddy bought her a new face mask that looks like a dragon.  We always start the treatment with a few nice "RRRROOOOAAAAARRRRs"  :)  It takes about five minutes for the treatment to finish, so we read a few books, and then the last minute is usually a bit of a fight...  :(





Burke has also been busy...busy growing that is!  Remember the first time he wore his "uniform"?



Now look at how it fits him!!



And look how adorable he is when he's fast asleep...



Burke has also decided that, whatever sports he decides to play (or not play), he wants to be on "Dad's Team":



"You talking to ME?"



Last night, I was snuggling with my little man, and I asked Daddy to take some pictures.  I was rather pleased with how they turned out.  (Forgive the dark circles...Burke prefers to sleep his long stretches, which are still only three hours, during the day.  During the night, he prefers to eat every two hours...)







I'll be back later with a real blog post (about priorities!)...after I do the dishes and put away the laundry.  :)  (There isn't too much, it shouldn't take long.)

1. Thank you for the e-mails alerting me that the comment CAPTCHA function is broken. I've got Mike on the case, but he probably won't be able to get around to it until this evening.

2. I really want to write a blog post, but it's about priorities. Why is that a problem? Well... I've got a pile of laundry staring me in the face. It needs to be folded, and I can't (in good conscience) sit here and write a blog post about priorities while neglecting my household duties. :)

3. Burke woke up at 9:00 a.m. this morning, and he didn't go back to sleep until 2:45. That made for one very cranky, tired, and needy baby. Add the cranky toddler into the mix, and you've got one fried momma. Please pray that I can get recharged quickly while Ruby's napping. Thank you!!

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. Our weekend was a little odd.

First off, we have two missing guitars. :( Ruby's little Fisher Price rock guitar is gone. I cannot find it. I have no idea where it could have gone. (It's not like my house is all that big...) Second, my Martin D-15 is missing.

Pastor Randy asked Mike and I to sing "Sweetly Broken" at church on Sunday, so we were going to practice Saturday night. Mike went outside to the van to get my guitar, since his was at church. When he opened the case, the guitar was gone. We've searched our house, Zach and Sarah's house, and the church. We have no idea where else it could be. We were a little worried that someone might have stolen it out of the van, but who takes a guitar without the case??

Anyway, I'm really hoping that we get our guitars back soon. If you have any information regarding these guitars, please 1-800-We-Miss-Music. :)

On a different note, Ruby had to have a glycerin suppository this weekend. (OUCH!! YUCK!!) She is going through a very rough phase where she refuses to poop in her nappy, because she doesn't like how it feels. On the other hand, she's scared to go on the potty. This is extremely common in young toddlers.

Unfortunately, despite pumping Ruby full of juice, raisins, and other natural laxatives, she still hadn't gone poop. Sunday morning, when I tried to get her dressed, I put on her cute jean skirt, and she started crying and tugging at the waistband saying, "Ouch! Too tight!" The waistband wasn't tight at all, but I tried a different pair of pants. She still complained that they were "too tight." Finally, I put her in a pair of yoga pants, and that was better.

She was still cranky all day and kept saying, "Uh oh, Mommy! Poo poo!" I figured she must be backed up. So...I gave her a suppository. :( It worked in five minutes, and oh my goodness... No wonder that poor girl was cranky yesterday. After she was finished, we noticed a distinct difference in her demeanor.

Needless to say, I'll be doing some research on all sorts of different potty training methods today. I think it's time.

Alright, I'm off to do more laundry. However, I wanted to let you all know that Mike is doing some different stuff on the website right now. I know a few of you have commented that the comments are working for you, and I've noticed that my WYSIWYG editor is gone. :( Hopefully he'll be done fiddlin' soon!

Have a great day!

Burke had a check-up today to make sure he's gaining weight and doing well. At his last check-up, Burke weighed 5 lbs. 5 ounces. That was sixteen days ago. Guess how much he weighs now!?!?

SEVEN POUNDS!!!

Oh my goodness!! I don't think Ruby weighed seven pounds until she was three or four months old. I just can't believe what a difference it makes to have Burke's acid reflux under control from the beginning.

Speaking of acid reflux...he's grown out of his medicine dosage again. :) That explains the extra spit-up and the fussiness between 11:00p and 3:00a. It also explains the weird gurgling noise that I hear in his nose. Thankfully, it happened during the appointment today. Dr. Miller said that it's the acid coming back up into his esophagus and trachea. Ouch! We'll be starting his new medicine dosage today, and if those symptoms aren't any better in five days, then we're going to discontinue the Reglan and start Prevacid. (Prevacid is the med that finally worked for Ruby.)

Anyway, it was just a great appointment for him all in all. I was hoping to get permission to take him off the monitor today. Unfortunately, Dr. Miller has to review the download of his heart/breathing activity first, and she's going to be out of town for a week. We went to Apria and got the information downloaded, though. So it'll be ready for her as soon as she gets back in town. We've got at least another week on the monitor. Pray that his download will be great and he can come off the monitor soon. It'll be so nice to have a wireless baby! :)

On the Ruby front, we have an explanation for the high fever. She broke out in a full-body rash yesterday, and I was pretty sure that signaled that she had been battling Roseola (http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/roseola-topic-overv...). Dr. Miller confirmed today. On the other hand, you know that cough Ruby has had for several weeks? Apparently it's an "asthma cough." Ruby coughed in front of Dr. Miller, and Dr. Miller's eyes got really big. She looked at me and asked how long Ruby had been coughing. I told her it had been at least two weeks...maybe as many as six. She said that I need to put Ruby back on her albuterol treatments asap. I'm hoping this is a temporary thing, and that it doesn't mean that Ruby has true asthma.

We've known that Ruby is at high risk for asthma for a long time, but I had been holding really high hopes that we'd be spared. Prematurity, RSV, anaphylactic allergies, and eczema are all high risk factors for asthma. Well, for Ruby that translates into: check! check! check! check! Since Ruby's got all four of those risk factors, it would be pretty rare to avoid asthma.

In happier news: Ruby decided to randomly count to ten for Dr. Miller. I kid you not, Dr. Miller blew bubbles (like she always does), and Ruby looked at the bubbles and started counting, "One Two Fee Sive Six Beven Eight Nine Ten!!" She skipped four, which is the number that Anja skipped, as well. I thought that was interesting. Anyway, Dr. Miller started laughing and asked, "How old is she again?" I just smiled and told her that Ruby likes to show off for her. I swear everytime I take that girl to the doctor's office, she reveals a new trick. Then, I always look like a completely oblivious mother, because I'm always just as shocked as the doctor...

We had lunch with KyKy, and we went to the Apria office to get Burke's machine downloaded. Ruby was a very good and obedient girl at both places. I was so very proud of her.

Then, to top off Ruby's excellent day, I was singing to her before naptime, and she lifted her head up off my shoulder and looked straight in my eyes to say:

"Wuv oo, Mommy."

My first unsoliticed, "I love you", from my beautiful sweet baby girl!!! Thank you, God, for these blessings!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day, as well! Be blessed!

This video is Ruby showing off her smarts.  Of course by now she's learned quite a bit more, but it was impressive at the time.

This video features Mike's excellent rapping skillz (to an old Notorious B.I.G. song) and Ruby dancing.

Do you ever stop suddenly and realize that you've got a new bad habit?  I hate it when that happens.  Today, I feel like I'm living in a day of bad habits!  (Although only one is "new.")

Bad Habit #1 (The New One):

It seems that somehow Burke has gotten into the habit of only going to sleep if he's being held.  50% of the time he can be easily transfered to bed.  50% of the time he can't.  Since he has to be plugged into the wall, this makes for a very immobile mommy.  Grr... 

The really frustrating part?  There is absolutely nothing I can (or should) do about it right now.  He's only six weeks old, and, if you use his adjusted age (how old he *should* be), he's still not even supposed to be out of the womb.  Accordingly, he gets to call all the shots.  You absolutely cannot spoil a child this age, and they don't have all of the skills necessary to help soothe themselves.  Therefore, I'm stuck holding him for *a lot* of the hours of the day.  As soon as he gets off the monitor, it'll be fine, because I can stick him in the sling and take him with me.  Right now, however, it's a little debilitating.

Which leads us to...

Bad Habit #2 (An Oldie, but A "Goodie"?):

When Ruby is finished eating, she tends to just clear her tray by throwing all the remaining food on the floor.  She has done this since she started self-feeding.  We made some major progress recently, and she was really doing a good job of telling us when she was finished, and letting us remove her tray.  Well, in the past week or so, she's back to throwing food on the floor.

I'm pretty sure it's because she's irritated that I can't generally get to her to get her down as soon as she's finished.  Burke almost always eats when Ruby's eating, so if she finishes before he does, then she has to wait.  Patience is not one of her virtues.  So she's taken back to showing her frustration by throwing her food.

Today, she really took it to a new level.  She threw one grape off her tray, and I said, "Ruby, I will help you get down in just a minute.  Stop."  She looked right at me, squished her blueberries and grapes in her hands, and threw them forcefully off her tray.  I raised my voice and said, "Ruby, stop now."  And she aimed her supreme pizza for the light oatmeal colored rug that already looks as if it should be thrown in the trash for the health of our family.  (Which I am TOTALLY considering!)  Then, she cleaned her mucky hands off on her shirt.

It's a very good thing that she was ten feet away and I had a helpless little baby in my arms.  A very good thing...

Anyway, I feel more tired than I can ever remember feeling, so my patience is a little thin.  I don't actually think I'm that tired...I think it has a lot more to do with being stuck in the house.  I'll be looking forward to Burke getting unhooked and getting his first round of steroids.  Then, maybe we can get out a little more.  

That's the update from this neck of the woods.  Ruby's doing well today, sickness-wise.  She's only been running a very low grade fever (99.9), and she hasn't been nearly as clingy.  I think we're at the end of this deal.  :)

Have a great day everyone!  If you're in the Lafayette area and you don't have any plans tonight, you should come to Elston Family Church.  We've got a really great children's program and then bible studies for the mommies and the daddies, too.  We have a good time!