Elijah Cade is here!!!

Elijah Cade Smith was born November 3, 2009 @ 6:20pm

He was 6lbs 0oz 19 inches long....

Elijah, also known as Eli, was born a little bit early due to my blood pressure being way too high and we never made it to MUSC to deliver. He was born at Summerville Medical Center and I must say their Special Care Nursery was AWESOME! Our Neonatoligist was awesome as well! Elijah came into this world breathing however he was later placed on a ventilator to help him breathe easier. He spent 7 days in the Special Nursery which was almost a full week less then what they said he would need. We are so thankful for everybody who prayedfor our little guy during the pregnancy and his stay in the nursery.

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks....enjoy!

And we have a name!!!

Hello all,
I am not sure why the blogger wont let me move the pics but anyway here they are! The 1st is a pic of our sweet babys face and the second is his foot.

I must first say that I have no idea why I am still awake! I mean I was tired when I went to bed and just tossed and turned and tossed and turned. So I decided to get up and not stress about not sleeping. Plus Baby boy is wildly tossing in the womb as well. I guess we both have a little insomnia tonight!

So after much prayer and many hours of researching names in books we finally have a name for our sweet baby! Only of all the names we looked at this one was not on the "list" of what we actually chose from books or the internet. During a Bible study we came across the name "Elijah". We liked the ring it had but we weren't sold on it and we werent really sure that name would fit into our family of names. Well, on day 2 of studying "Elijah" in the Bible we both stopped at the same moment and said "This is the name of our son" pretty much at the same time. I was like "whoa, that was a little weird." I asked kevin why he thought that. His response "I just know". Right. I am a woman who needs detail! But he reassured me that after more prayer that the Lord would let me "know" as well.

Day 3 of studying "Elijah", Rylie came in to our bedroom and laid her head on my tummy and said "Night, Night Baby Eli." Eli, what! Kevin smiled and said " I told you." Okay so I still wasnt convinced. But after finishing my study on "Elijah" I was sure in my heart and soul that my son was to be named " Ellijah". Elijah means Jehovah is my God. And the middle name that we actually did choose from a christian baby name book was CADE. Cade means strong defense.

Choosing a name for this baby was more difficult then it was for the girls. Of course our girls have very meaningful names but we knew our son, the next generation of men, had to be strong in his faith and his walk with the LORD! We want for him to be able to say "The Lord is MY God and my salvation and I will not be moved!" Basically, we chose to hear the Lord tell us that our son's name would be Elijah. And once we realized what his full name meant(after looking it up) we "knew", I "knew"! God is so good and we praise Him!

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life will be given over to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:27-28

We are so excited for this little boy to come into our home. We are so thankful that he is a child of God and we are even more grateful God chose us to be his parents. Each one of our children is a blessing to us and even though many more then the 3 we have on this earth are in heaven, we are blessed to have had them with us the short time that we did. Thank you God for the many blessings your have poured out into our family! AMEN

Have a blessed night,
Jacki

Girls new Summer pics!!

We had theses pics taken of the kids yesterday...after almost 2 years of not have them taken I think they came out Great!! Enjoy!
Love jacki

We are expecting our 3rd miracle baby!!!

Yes!!! We have been blessed with baby #3. The start of this pregnancy was a little rocky and we experienced a "Vanishing twin". It could have been a lot harder for us then it was and thankfully we knew that it was a possibility that we could loose one of them. One of the babies was always measuring about 1 1/2 weeks bigger then the other and wasnt even visible on the 1st

ultrasound. Just a gestational sac was visible. But every time we went back something new popped up in the sac and we were getting prepared for what could be happening....TWINS!

I was very ill with morning sickness, super tired and had no energy to do anything. In fact many days I went without showers and was only reminded by my own smell that it was time to hop on in. (I know TMI right??) But as the weeks have passed I have gotten better.I lost 18 lbs from my last appt which only 4 months prior to my first OB appt. We have had about 5 appts now and I am 13wks5 days now. At my 12 week checkup we saw on Ultrasound that the twin did not make it. It was kinda bittersweet for me. The doctor was very supportive and shared that it was very common for this to happen in twin pregnancies but reminded me that it was still a loss and to treat it as such. Kevin and I mourned the loss for a few days and we have completely come to the realization that there is no other place we would want our child then in the arms of our Heavenly Father. What a glorious sight. So we are okay. We are thankful for the health of the other baby who is wildly moving about in my womb and is hysterically funny to watch on the ultrasound machine! It always looks as if it is laughing or dancing...I guess the baby takes after his daddy! :)

On a different note:

We are still enjoying our new church. And we are still getting used to the size even though most times it doesnt seem as big as it really is to us! The people we have met are really great and their marriage ministry ROCKS!

Danielle is going through a rough patch. She hasnt been in school since about mid April and she wont return before then end of the school year. She will attend an Intensive outpatient program at MUSC Childrens Hospital which is supposed to help her manage moods and they also deal with the school part as well. It is an all day program so it will be hard at first but I think she will eventually do great as the newness wears off! Please keep Danielle and our whole family in your prayers as we journey through this difficult time of medication trials, new programs and many many therapy appointments. We thank you all in advance for the prayers we know they have worked in the past with how she has responded to the therapy and medication in the past. Thanks again! :)

Rylie bug: What a character this one is! She is very strong-willed but what can I say she is her mothers daughter! I dont know yet if thats a good or bad thing! I do know that she is very independent and wants nothing to do with being treated like a baby! She loves music and dancing which is right were daddy would want her! Those 2 are a funny scene to watch! She is talking pretty much in full sentences and shes totally in love with ELMO! What! I didnt even know that she knew who that was. We have a couple of books with him in it but never have we watched a cartoon with him in it! I was very surprised! She says she wants a "Happy birthday elmo!" I take it she wants an Elmo birthday party! Other then that she is a normal hyper 2 year old!

Kevin and I are doing good. We are reading a lot of great books and are kinda just learning things that work for us! We have had a lot of hurdles to jump over in the last couple of months so considering all of that I think we are doing great! We pretty much stay busy and when we do have a quiet day we are LAZY! So thats pretty much it for us! Not much of anything else to report! So I will post some recent pics so you can see the babies and then off I go! Enjoy the Pics!

Love jacki

It's been too long.....

....since I have updated this blog! Man I guess all I can say is that we have been busy as usual. But that excuse is getting kinda rusty....;)

So just to catch everybody up:

Kevin and I have been doing fantastic! We have been attending Cathedral of Praise and have been plugging in to their small groups and different ministries! We absolutely love it there! Our souls are being "fed well"! We have been adjusting to raising a puppy, which may I add is no different from raising a newborn with all of the demands this little guy has! But Samuel does fit into our family very well and we love him though he is(for mommy) a LOT of WORK!

Danielle and Rylie came down with some really nasty viral illness last weekend that had us pretty scared. They had fevers that soared over 104 and hit 105.4 on several occasion of a 5 day period. WOW! We went through 3 bottles of Motrin and 2 bottles of Tylenol doing the rotation just to keep the fevers around 102-103. IT was rough! I am very happy that this week has ended along with the fevers! YAY!! So beyond the illness situation the kids are getting so big and full of funny's! Rylie has really wanted to start potty training again. But.....she want to do it on the BIG POTTY!!! She looks soooo cute on it! Rylie has also decided that she likes the word NO! Everything is NO! Even if she want what you asking about, it's NO! She is talking more and we are teaching her sign language for hearing children and that has made a huge difference in the tantrum throwing although I have to admit, she still throws a good one every now and again!

Danielle is currently stable in regards to her BPD. Her meds have been increased and she is tolerating the increase pretty well. She is a much happier little 6 year old and much easier to handle when she is upset. That was the goal, so I say we accomplished it! Horray Danielle! She is doing well in school and we are looking at some summer activities to do while she out of school! But so far we havent had any luck! She want to do Dance! Most places around here are way too much money for what she is going to be learning. So anyways, overall Danielle is awesome!!! Thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate her 6th birthday! We all had a blast!

Well, that all for now! Hope you have enjoyed!

Have a great and Blessed day!
Love Jacki

We have a new member of our family....

Yep! That's right, we are now proud owners of a puppy named "Samuel"! We all call him something different like Sammy, Sam-I-am and just plain Sam. We have had him for 2 days now and I am amazed that we could love a little baby doggie sooo much.


Samuel is a Toy Poodle/terrier mix. He probably wont be more then 6 or so pounds when he full grown. Right now he is only about 10 oz. He is only almost 7 weeks old. Samuel is learning stuff so fast though. He has not pottied in his crate at all and we are already taking him outside to potty and he makes every time! I am amazed! The only thing that is a little bothersome to me,which is kinda silly, is that he smells like a wet dog. There is nothing that I don't like more then that smell. So I guess he will be getting a frequent bath here and there and they have some freshening up spray at PetsMart that I might have to get too.


The kids are doing great with him too. Rylie is little rough and tough child and doesn't understand "Easy, not rough" very well and she frequently squeezes him which literally scares me to death. A 10oz dog isn't very durable to toddler abuse! :) Danielle carries Samuel around like a newborn baby and wants to sleep with him in her bed. (We are crate training him) so that's out of the question. Overall though the kids are doing great with him. Kevin hasn't said much about him but I think he always thought we would get a big dog like a Lab or Golden Retriever or something around those lines. I know he likes the dog because he is always snuggling with him on the couch before bed but Sammy isn't a very manly dog. You will see when you look at the pics! LOL

Well here's our "little man" :

Happy 6th Birthday Danielle!!!

My baby girl turned six today! Wow! I can't believe it has been six years since that day when it was just her and I in that hospital room...

On March 16th 2003, Danielle Claire was born after a short 5 hour labor and delivery weighing in at 6lbs 13.8ozs and 18 3/4 in at 11:26pm. Whirlwinds of emotions came as she entered my world. But just as any new mommy I scooped her up and loved that little girl and made many promises to her and that moment only belongs to "us"!

Since that day 6 years ago Danielle has grown into a wonderful and sweet little girl. No longer atoddler anymore she has officially entered childhood! Yeah Danielle!

On Saturday we had a party at our house to celebrate! She had a great time and so did we! After the party 4 girls spent the night. They all had a blast and were full of giggles and energy! We watched High School Muscial 3 and ate candy and popcorn and apples! And then without any fussiness they all went to sleep and slept great! There were 2 girls who had never spent a night away from their mommies and daddies and they did awesome too!

My girls are growing sooo fast....

My dear! Danielle is going to be 6 years old this Monday! And Rylie Grace is going to be 2 in June! Where has the time gone?!? I mean it seems like it was just yesterday that Ry was a baby!

Rylie at 3 days old...

Danielle 3 days old....I guess you are all wondering why I am reminiscing?!?! Well my friend Heather just had her baby girl last night by C-Section and I got to go and spend time with her and mommy and she is just so perfect...I mean every little feature was so...well, perfect. It seemed. And I just miss those days of contentment with my babies. They are aware of the harshness(well Danielle is), of this world and I cant help but ask myself why I rushed those precious days, so much so that I barely remember certain things about those first days. What happened to my Danielle who seemed so perfect?? She know battles the Bipolar disorder and PTSD. Why? I guess I could ask why all day long but that isnt going to take it away, I know! But Just seeing her made me think that while everyone comes in and says "Ooohhh, How perfectly precious!",I wonder what happened to my babies? The 9 that are in Heaven?? The 2 I have on this earth?? They need me now and while the doctors cant tell you on your childs day of birth that they continue to be perfectly healthy, I guess I lived in that fantasy world that nothing bad would happen to them.

Today, I had a team of 6 specialists sit across from a board room table and tell me that my child has a "Mood Disorder". WHAT! You dont think I know that! Why do you think I am here?!? I want to know why...Why is this happening to her...why at age 5...why hallucinations that terrify her...why not newborn bliss until she can handle this mean awful world?? Why, why, why??? Although they all had very good recommendations and accommodations and reason and much more then anyone person can handle to hear, I still can't shake this overwhelming feeling that I have failed as a mother. In fact, they said to me "Mrs. Smith, It seems as if you and Danielle missed a step in the dance of infancy. Can you recall a time that that may have happened?" Okay, I know they had only the best intentions since this is MUSC Childrens Hospital, but come on! How can a mother answer that question? How can I look at a bunch of strangers and say "Gee, I think it might of been the 6 1/2 months of screaming she did as an infant or the 18 months of continuous breastfeeding, or maybe the fact that I just didn't know what I was doing at age 20." To make it all feel that much worse they referred ME to counseling and said that I had to learn to parent my child in a "very different, yet gentle and non-combative way".

Wow! Thanks. I really needed that. I almost felt like at that moment they could have slapped me in the face and that would have hurt less. So as my sweet baby girl turns 6 on Monday, I will be reminded that once again I have failed as a parent. It seems. I have been praying really hard about this and I know God is teaching me something...i'm just not sure what. While I am figuring that out I will try to keep this blog on a more positive note...but please keep me in your prayers. I know my children need them too put I do that automatically everyday before the even open their tiny eyes....

By the way...The baby who I went to see was named:

Eliana Sierra Louise Webb!

Born 3/10/2009

at 8:43 pm

8lbs 12 ozs 20 inches long

Congrats to the family! She is absolutely precious! (Pics)

"Snow Down" in Summerville

Good evening family and friends! I hope your weekend was wonderful just like mine was!

On Friday we went to a friends house and had a going away party for a friend from church! His name is Tim. Please keep his family in your prayer as they will be separated for several months for military training stuff. Then on Saturday we went with Danielle's best friend Haley and her parents Chris and Christy to the "Snow-Down" at Faith Assembly church in Summerville! It was a blast! It was the very first time the kids had seen some type of snow!

Danielle in the snow

Rylie Grace examining the snow...she could figure out what this very cold thing was! She eventually starting playing with it but it took most of her turn to do so!Danielle and her BFF Haley!They did a children's service in the middle of the day and had an awesome worship time too! This is Haley and Danielle listening to the pastor.And last but not least...Rylie! She loves to praise and worship God! She was totally into it and you cant really see but she has her hand stretched up towards the Heavens! How cute is that?!Rylie pointing to God again! That girl loves to worship! Family worship time in our home happens a lot because of this little girl!Hope you all enjoyed the pics! Have a blessed evening!

Much love,

Jacki

Savannah GA here we come!

Okay I know it's been a really long time since I have updated and I am terribly sorry for that! We have been extremely busy! Life just keeps getting so busy. So we decided to get away from it all and just chill out for a couple days! We were in desperate need of that. We decided that since Savannah wasnt very far away that it was perfect for our very short notice trip!

This was the bridge we came over to get into Historic Savannah. I didnt know that there was another bridge that resembled the one in Charleston!

This was one of several monument that we saw. They were all so beautiful!

Kevin and Rylie in front of the monument.

Kevin and Danielle...being their silly selves in front of the same monument!




AAGGHH....Why did this turn?? Oh well, this was on the steps of the Old Court House across from the square that we were at on the first day!
On the second day we went to Oatland Wildlife park. It was absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever been. It was a wilderness walk you basically take on your own through several beautiful trees and there were natural exhibits along the way that were native to the Savannah and South Carolina coast. This was one of the old Oak trees that Kevin was in love with!


This was me and the girls looking at the reptile exhibit....Alligators, snakes, turtles and many more lizards that were totally grossing me out! But the kids loved them!

Danielle was on the boardwalk over the marsh which was again very beautiful to look out over!

We went to have lunch after all that walking(4 hours) at Paula Deans Restaurant in Downtown Savannah. He just had to get her Collard greens and peach cobbler amongst other things... Danielle...sideways! AAGHH!

Rylie did not want to sit in her highchair at all. We had a great window seat and she was all about looking out of the window the whole time!

This was on River St.! It was all waterfront and so cold but really pretty. The kids by this point were done with site seeing and they just wanted to run around! As you can see they weren't very happy! Another beautiful monument...

This was 1% of the pictures we took! We took 349 pictures and 4 videos! It was crazy. We had no idea!

Anyways, we all have been good! Just living the everyday! Danielle is still having her ups and down and we are still going to our marriage class! We are still enjoying that time very much! The only new news to report is that we have hired a mothers helper/ babysitter. She is awesome! We love her and so do the kids! She is available to share...just thought I would pass it along!

OKay off to appointments. I pray that you all would have a very blessed day!

Much love,

Jacki