Our Little Christmas Miracle

We have wonderful news! In an amazing twist of events, baby J's sweet birth mother has asked us to be his permanent family, and unexpectedly relinquished all of her rights last week in court. We are thrilled beyond measure to be able to have this little Christmas blessing in our forever family! Our adoption date is set for March, and I promise to post a slew of pictures (and give the whole wonderful story!)

Decking the Halls

The boys have been requesting to set up our Christmas tree since Halloween. We were able to convince them to wait until after Thanksgiving. So, bright and early, the day after thanksgiving the boys were up and ready to decorate!

Tate hanging an ornament

Decorating the tree would not be complete without a bowl full of mint m and m's!

Max hanging up some of his decorations

The boys favorite part of decorating for Christmas is getting the "Christmas Train" out

Chad decorating the tree

Lindsay decorating the tree

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at my parent's house. There was plenty of yummy food, and it was great to be with our family. Here are some of the highlights!

Bri and Kev playing a little checkers

Chad, Tate, T, Bri, Max, Grandpa Craig, Kevin, and J setting up the electric trains

Mom and Grandma

Let's Eat!

We are definitely very grateful to have little J. in our home and in our lives. He received this darling bib from a nurse in the NICU who had fallen in love with him (who wouldnt?!)

The boys and I decided to make a "Mayflower" cake. Max is pretty sure it is a Max cake though, because we put "M"'s on each of our sails--and as far as he is concerned, every M stands for Max!

Of course we had to have a "silly" picture too!

Quick Update

We're home!! After 9 days in the hospital we made it home last Thursday. J is doing really well, and is already up to 6lb. 3 oz.! (He was born at 3 lb 7 oz, and we brought him home the first time at 4 lb 11 oz.) We still have some medical issues we are dealing with, but are happy to report that he is breathing at all times with no apnea! We love this little guy!

Deposit Prayers Here...

Wow! We had a wonderful first week home with our little guy. To say he is adored around here is an incredible understatement! Max and Tate love to kiss his little head, and are the greatest helpers around.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, we noticed that he was not eating well and that something was just not right. After taking a temp (94.7) we called the pediatrician and were told to immediately go to the ER at Primary Children's Medical Center. Once there we learned that he was hypothermic and was experiencing significant apnea. The doctor's did a million tests, including a lumbar puncture. The lumbar puncture was the most excruciating part--it is the only time we have heard J. really scream. We were transferred up to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and have now graduated to the infant medical/surgical unit. We still do not know what is causing his apnea. Each time he has an apneic event, we are guaranteed another 48 hours in the hospital.

Please pray for our little man, we are so grateful to have him in our lives, and cannot wait to bring him home again.

Baby J!

Our sweet baby J. came home from the NICU on Monday, October 18th. He is 5 weeks old and weighs 5lb. 11 oz. He is beautiful, wonderful, and absolutely adored by all of us! We can't give a lot of details right now, because we are currently his foster parents, but believe me, as soon as I can I will post tons and tons of pictures! We are just thrilled to have this little man in our lives!

Welcome home baby J!

Max Starts Preschool!

Max is so excited to go to his "big kid" school! So far his favorite things have been the outside sandbox, and the fun car area.

Tate's First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe it. My baby is 5 and is headed off to Kindergarten. He absolutely loves it, and is doing great! His teacher is Mrs. Toraya, and she is wonderful. He has made lots of new friends and enjoys having playdates with them.

More California Pics...

California Part 5: The San Diego Zoo

California Part 4: San Diego Maritime Museum

The San Diego Maritime Museum was awesome! We were able to take a boat ride of the harbor and see many of the battleships. After our boat ride we were able to go on several historical ships. I think everyone's favorite was the submarine!

Chad and Max on one of the sailing ships

Chad checking for incoming U-Boats

Tate, Chad, and Max

Tanja and Tate

Jaxon, Tate, and Max checking out all of the controls

Tate on one of the canons

Max on a canon

"Mom!! Just take the picture!!!"

Jaxon, Tate, Max, and Lindsey

Max and Tate thought this was the funniest thing they had ever seen!

Tate, Chad, and Max on the boat ride around the harbor