been a while

WOW! Time flies when your household is sick and you are having surgery :-) Lets see where to begin. On March 12th I decided to take Jake out on a hot date. I had a big surprise for him too. I got my mom to sit overnight with the boys so we could have a relaxing evening in a nice hotel down the street. The plans were set. I went to the hotel early to drop off a bag of stuff and check in. I took him out to dinner and popped the surprise on him. All was looking good for a night of R and R and a morning of sleeping in :-) Then suddenly, the phone rang... it was my mom. Ethan was vomiting every 30 min. So instead of going to the hotel to spend the night, we went, picked up the bag and headed home. Instead of a relaxing evening we spent the night with E on the bathroom floor teaching our little boy to lean over the toilet to vomit. After doing laundry all night and the entire next day just so the poor boy would have something to wear we finally had some reprieve, if only for a little while. Ethan wasn't eating much or drinking much. He was still vomiting on Sat. Then, on Sunday night, Jake got the bug. My poor husband was up most of the night ill. I did what I could to help him, but I was also getting ready for my surgery and having had surgery before, I know rest is needed for healing. On Monday, Jake sucked it up and took me to surgery, still sick most of the day. (For those of you who don't know, I have been in extreme pain for the last 2 yrs. recently doctors discovered that my knee cap was off to the side of my knee instead of in the center. They decided the best thing to do is to go in, break my leg and move the bone over so my tendons are in the correct place. Then using screws they put the bone in the correct location) I had my surgery, got home and in bed and on Tuesday night, yup, you guessed it... I got the bug. It was HORRIBLE! I was sick for two days as well. Thankfully JT never got the bug. PRAISE GOD! So here I am having just had my leg broken, moved and screwed into place and in extreme pain. I have to say that I am on week 3 of a 6 week recovery. (when I say 6 week recovery I mean I can't walk for 6 weeks, then the real recovery and PT begins) Each day is a little better which I am thankful for.
In the middle of all of our sickness we ended up having a few appointments for JT. He saw his neurologist and the pediatrician. We got good news from both! The Neurologist said that his gross motor skills are fantastic and that he looks more like a 5 month old than a 2.5 month old. She also said if he continues to look good at his next appointment we will get to wait longer for the next one. YAY! The pediatrician said he looks great and that he is on the growth chart of a 5 month old and not a 2.5 month old! He is below the 5% but he is still on the chart! HOORAY! God has blessed us with an amazing little boy. He is smiling and cooing. He is sitting well and holding his head up. JT loves tummy time and we are working on rolling over. That is a goal of the Physical Therapist. She wants him to roll over by next month. All in all, he is doing so well. We are so thankful for the prayers that he continues to receive! God is still listening and JT still has a long way to go.
As for our amazing little Ethan, well, he is just that AMAZING! With all that has gone on this year he is such a trooper! I can't believe my little guy is almost 2yrs old! He is so smart and so funny! He cracks me up daily. His smile brightens the room and his laughter is a cure for anything. His new favorite saying is "whoa dude, awesome!" taught to him by his Uncle Jon. He loves JT and is such an incredible helper. He gives him his binki when he cries and says "it's okay JT."
My heart is overflowing with love and joy! God has blessed me so abundantly and I am so thankful that I can share my joys and trials with you. God is good in all circumstances, good, bad, fun, hard. We have a loving God and I am so thankful!

God Bless friends!!

Quick update on Justin

Here is the latest and greatest!
We were visited last week by the county evaluators once again. This time we had a physical therapist and a developmental specialist. Throughout the evaluation they used words like "Amazing", "Awesome", and "Wonderful!" They were SO impressed with JT's development. Although JT is technically almost 4.5mos old he will actually be 2 mos on Sunday. According to their standards JT is at the developmental level of a 2-3 mos old. (when they did the eval. they said he was 1 mos 12 days) We are so happy and so excited. JT is becoming more alert and wanting to play more. He LOVES Ethan probably as much as Ethan loves him. He will watch Ethan and talk to him. It is so fun to watch. I am so blessed to witness this brotherly bond growing!!
JT also went to the pediatrician this past week. This is big because he got weighed... JT weighs.... are you ready... 10lbs 5.oz!! AWESOME! He is getting so big and fat. He is God's little miracle and Jake and I feel so blessed to be apart of that miracle.
Thank you for keeping him in your prayers. He will be seen again by the physical therapist in 2 weeks and then we will go every other month from there. Right now they are simply going to be observing him but continued prayers for his development are greatly appreciated.

God Bless!!