05/27/07 2:45 p.m.

Today is a bit of a more quiet day around home so I thought I'd take a few moments and let you know what is going on around here. Getting everything done in the mere 24 hours allotted to me is a bit of a challenge. After having Ephram almost a week ago, I am trying to recover but stay on top of things too. Josh still needs care, needs to be turned at night, kids still need meals and the baby needs to be fed (a lot- he's growing like a weed!). Then there are the day to day things that need to be done around the house. Today, the beds are not made and it's the middle of the afternoon, I have yet to brush my teeth or put on some makeup, but we did get a few things done around the house. Ephram continues to not be a great sleeper during the night, but he is doing better than the first night we had him home when he was a little stinker. Right now, he is up between 2-3 hours during the night, usually around the 3:00 hour and on. Sometimes he takes little cat-naps and sometimes he just likes to fuss a little. He is an absolute joy and Noah and Zoe cannot get enough of him the past few days. Yesterday, Noah wanted to help a lot which I love to see, coming from him. Zoe continues to be Ephram's second mommy and loves to wash her hands with sanitizer before she holds him. I think she likes the washing of the hands more than the holding, but hey, who knows?

Josh continues to struggle with the swollen feet and difficulties with his body temperature. These both are very frustrating for him. The feet issue has gotten a bit better since we started laying him on the mat table in the playroom with his feet on an ottoman. He lays flat on his back and then we put his feet up. It seems to be working quite well and he likes that he does not have to be in his bed in the middle of the day. He goes back to therapy three times a week starting tomorrow and is anxious to get back into the normal routine of knowing what to expect when.

We have had to great gains are surprises in regards to Josh's movement abilities over the last few weeks. He said today he is sick of his chair and tired of waiting to be healed. Yes, he is getting impatient at times, but he states the getting out of the chair as a fact, not a question. He continues to encourage me when I start questioning and reminds me to pray and ask with faith that he will be healed. Sometimes, it seems a bit foolish that he has to encourage me and not vice versa but I guess we both have our moments.

One thing that has gotten frustrating for both of us is the lack of a place to cuddle. We are both pretty cuddly people and Josh is really starting to miss that time together. We are starting to consider upping the timeline for getting a king-sized bed so that we can sleep and cuddle together. Right now, there is no place that will accommodate us both so we have a hard time with that. The other struggle for Josh is that he is not able to initiate things at will. If he were wanting to hug or kiss on one of the kids or me, he would just do it without thinking. He now is very limited in how much he can initiate with very limited use of his arms. He also has to wait until one of the kids is willing to quiet down enough to sit on his lap or spend some time reading a book together or something of the sort. He is also anxious to get a bigger bed so that the kids can get in our bed. Before the accident, the kids came into our room every morning and laid with us until we had enough energy to get going. He misses that time and is eager to recapture it.

Ephram DANIEL.  For those of you out there who have been asking what his middle name is. The reason we were not sharing it is because for the first few days after he was born, we were completely clueless on a middle name. We finally agreed on Daniel and think it suits him well. Josh wanted his middle name to be James, but I wasn't too hip on it. He tried to pull the "I'm in a wheelchair" card, but I didn't go for it! :-) I just downloaded some pics of him where you can actually see his face so I'll make sure to get post those as soon as Josh can help me. (I'm a bit computer illiterate with this program.)  Ephram does have a bit of jaundice so we were at the hospital lab twice in the past 2 days and we were encouraged to find out it is going down as of yesterday. He is the third out of fourth child of ours to have it so we weren't too worried. He did not even need a phototherapy blanket and has gotten better without any intervention from the doctors. His pediatrician said he looks great and is almost back to birth weight. He is only 3 ounces less.  Our little boy loves his food.

That's all for today. I want to get in a quick nap before church tonight so I'm signing off. Have a nice Memorial Day tomorrow.

Prayer Requests:

-TOTAL HEALING

-Family stability and energy to made it through the days

-more movement and feeling in fingers and triceps

05/24/07 10:00 p.m.

So, lots of things have changed since my last post. As you know from my mom's post, Ephram is here!!! We are so excited to have him here with us and thankfully, out of my tummy! The last few days have been nothing but busyness and sleep deprivation. Little Ephram has his days and nights a little mixed up and we're working hard to get him on our schedule.  He seems to have a strong mind of his own and continues to sleep all day and want to look around all night. He is a total honey and is bringing us lots of joy and smiles.

Since losing Ava, both Josh and I have been relieved at how we have reacted to having a baby around the house again. We were not sure if we would be paralyzed by fear that something would happen or if we would react like normal parents with a normal amount of fear but still being able to function normally. We both feel like we are doing well with adjusting to having him around. We are much more aware of the dangers that surround our children (especially Ephram) but we know that God is watching out for our little guy.

Having the kids come up to the hospital on Monday night was priceless. Zoe was so exited, mouth covered and squealing, she came running into the room. Noah was interested for the first few seconds but then he was done. I was showing him Ephram's hands and he watched me pick up his hand and says, "Your fingers work?"  The next question was "Your legs work?" It became obvious very quickly that he thought me going to the hospital meant coming home in a wheelchair like daddy. It was so sad, yet so sweet and endearing. It was so nice to be able to explain to him that I would be home in 2 days with Ephram and that mommy would come home walking.

Both kids have loved holding him and kissing all over him. Zoe picked him up by herself for the first time today (we discouraged that very quickly), thankfully she did a good job. She always wants to give him his pacifier and sit next to me while he eats. She is being a wonderful big sister.  Noah is still not too interested. He likes saying he has a little brother and then going back outside to swing.

Josh is able to hold Ephram with the Boppy around his waist. The Boppy is a circular pad that goes around your stomach and lets Ephram lay on his lap while being very secure. Right now, that is about all he can do with him, but he enjoys what he can. He also likes to take the fingers with feeling and rub Ephram's  smooth baby cheeks.

Josh has not gone to therapy this week because of the way things worked around here. He was up at the hospital all day on Monday while Ephram was in the process of greeting us and Wednesday, he stayed home to welcome mommy and Ephram home from the hospital.

Tomorrow we start back on normal days with Josh heading back to therapy, getting up and ready for school, and Josh's mom being gone. She left this evening and was a huge help with Josh, turning him during the night and getting him ready for bed. Please be praying that we can get everything done that everyone needs, that Ephram starts sleeping at night and that the kids continue to do well. nighty-night.

Prayer Requests:

-TOTAL HEALING

-Energy and a good attitude in taking care of our family

-Ephram's sleep schedule

05/21/07 9:00 p.m.

Well, we gave it the ol' college try and attempted to post from the hospital shortly after Ephram's birth. But their wireless wouldn't cooperate. So this is Shelly's mom again, posting from home. 

Ephram entered our world today at 5:48 p.m. after a long day for Shelly. It took quite a while to get things going, then when "things" did get going, the birth came rather quickly. There were a few anxious moments just before Ephram was born. The cord was wrapped tightly around his neck and body. But quick action on the part of the doctor and all was well. He is a little pumpkin and has all his fingers and toes (do pumpkins have fingers and toes? Josh asks). This one does! Ephram weighs 6 lb. 15 oz. and is 18" long. Daddy was there for the whole scene and held Ephram shortly after his birth. Big brother Noah and big sister Zoe came up to visit as well. We took hundreds of pictures of our little wonder, but I'll just post two here for your enjoyment:

05/21/07 5:00 a.m.

Well, it's 5 a.m. and we've been here for about 2 hours.  My mom and sister are here with me and Josh will be arriving around 8:30 or 9:00 this morning. His nurse tech is coming early to get him ready and then he will be coming. Before I left, we had a chance to talk for a few minutes while I was turning him. He is so excited and extremely nervous at the same time. He wants to be able to hold Ephram and feel capable of holding him without dropping him etc. 

I am yet to get the drugs to start labor. When we showed up today, we found out that I had dilated further and having quite a few contractions. At this point, we are just hanging out, playing solitaire, surfing the internet and generally just getting excited! 

The nurse has  been wonderful so far and we have a nice sized room that Josh will be able to get around in. They also have reserved a room next door if Josh needs to lay down and also have access to a lift to get him in and out of bed if need be. They have been nothing but helpful so far. One of the girls from church is a nurse on the labor and delivery floor and got us all hooked up! We are so thankful! The nurse on staff right now also got us a large room on the postpartum floor so that we all have room- especially Josh in his chair!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for Josh. We did find another tiny blister on his other heal which was very disheartening. We are unsure how he is getting them and are now watching his feet like hawks.  He stayed up way too late on Saturday night so he was pretty tired on Sunday. He fell asleep with his head on the kitchen counter and I finally convinced him to get into bed. He took a nap for 2 and a half hours and woke up feeling much better. We then spent quite a while working on taking notes for his sermon. He taught in church, and knew what he would be teaching on but cannot take notes for himself. So, together, we surfed all over the internet for specific information, Bible verses and other things he needed to see. I am seeing a different side to this job of being a pastor!

I skipped church last night and ran errand picking up Josh's and Noah's meds and getting some supplies that we would be needing in the next few days. I then came home and took a bath, washed my hair and took my time getting ready for today! We are so excited for the arrival of our little buddy.  Please be praying for us today and for little Ephram as he makes his grand entrance!

Prayer Requests:

-TOTAL HEALING!!!

-Safe delivery for Ephram

-Stability as things are about to change even MORE!