Brrrrr.....
My family has been dressed in layers for weeks now! This is craziness! For some reason I dont NOT remember it being this cold in the last 4 years of living here in SC. Well since the cold weather has us in the house most days instead of outside we have a lot of time to play games, color and having meaningful conversations. I guess you could say we are enjoying the "Small things" in life.
As most of you read in my last post, I have been spending a little more time then usual for me with God. I have had a time with all of this illness and sadness in my family and as a mom and wife I want to fix it and make it go away. I want to heal everyone from their illness and comfort my children and husband when they hurt. I had taken on this GINORMOUS(i know this is probably not a word) task and have been kinda burdened by it because it is A LOT!
Well in the time I had with the Lord this week and it was confirmed in church this Sunday, I have got to let go and let God! He never meant for me carry those burdens. He never meant for me to be a great mother to His children and be a helper to my husband on my own. The enemy has tricked me into this idea that it is MY burden to carry and that if I dont then I am not being a good wife and mother. Wrong answer says God! Thats why I am here. TRUST ME! LEAN on ME! Let Me love you! Let Me take care of you.
Okay, God if this is what You want and have had planned for me please show me what this looks like.
There are many questions that I had for God this week. Some of them got answered and a lot of them did not. I guess it will continue to be a work in progress. But hey, I will take work in progress over sad, lonely and exhausted any day!
Family update:
Danielle: Has had a bad week...but her therapist has assured me that this is normal and will pass and if it does not then we will increase her meds. I really hope we dont have to do this but God does know what she needs and we will with His guidance make that decision when its time. She missed 2 1/2 days of school last week because of it and that makes a lot of homework for a little girl who is battling depression. So please pray for Danielle. That she will come out of this and transition back into normalcy(her normal). Health wise she is good though. Just still working on the mental aspect of things...
Rylie: Silly as ever! She is feeling better. Still not eating as much food as we would like but we will take what we can get even if it is a chicken nugget from McDonald's. Other then that she is growing and gaining her weight back slowly.
Kevin and I are spending a lot of individual time with God these days. Maybe thats whats been missing all this time. And why we have such a hard time. Well at least we are starting to figure things out and trying to do the right thing. Our new church is still awesome although there is times where I dearly miss JICC. The house is great and such a blessing to us and the marriage is still a work in progress.I think thats the way God wanted. Growing and changing everyday.
Well my friends, thats all for now! Hope you enjoyed. I am really hoping to get some recent pics and a video of Rylie talking. She has really started talking really good. Also, Rylie started potty training 3 days ago and she is doing good. she used the potty 2 times the first day and now she thinks if she sits on it(with clothes on) that we have clap and get a treat. Shes currently upset that we tell her she has to put something in the potty first. She will even go as far as spitting in the potty to get some treats. Silly girl!
Have a blessed day!
Much love,
Jacki
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Rylie has finally recovered!
Good Morning,
I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. We just wanted to update you all on Rylies status....
She has had to go to the hospital again to have more labs done because she really isn't eating solid food and she is only having about 2 wet diapers in a 24 hour period. Dr. Stadalsky was a little concerned and so off we went to the lab to have them done.
Her Labs came back great. Kidney function and dehydration are all looking good! Praise God! Hopefully its just her body reabsorbing fluids and retaining them.
It has occurred to me that we have had a lot of things going on in our life that aren't necessarily positive and it had me thinking and praying yesterday about why. What are we doing that isn't right? Are our hearts not in the right place to receive your blessings? Have we moved out from under your umbrella of protection? It continues to be a source of frustration for me and although we have tried and tried to live for Jesus and to walk like Him and teach our children about Him, it seems as if we are missing the mark some how.
So for the next few days I have decided that maybe I have to dedicate a special time for God & me to hang out. I know it shouldn't be just for those few days, but for now just enough time for me to re-examine what it is that we aren't doing right. Please pray for me as I take this journey as I might find out things that may be hard to hear from Him. That I might find things I wasn't ready to find or see truths I wasn't ready to know....
Well it's time to start my day! The little ones are beggin for food! Have a blessed day and may the Lord bless you and keep you!
Love Jacki
I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. We just wanted to update you all on Rylies status....
She has had to go to the hospital again to have more labs done because she really isn't eating solid food and she is only having about 2 wet diapers in a 24 hour period. Dr. Stadalsky was a little concerned and so off we went to the lab to have them done.
Her Labs came back great. Kidney function and dehydration are all looking good! Praise God! Hopefully its just her body reabsorbing fluids and retaining them.
It has occurred to me that we have had a lot of things going on in our life that aren't necessarily positive and it had me thinking and praying yesterday about why. What are we doing that isn't right? Are our hearts not in the right place to receive your blessings? Have we moved out from under your umbrella of protection? It continues to be a source of frustration for me and although we have tried and tried to live for Jesus and to walk like Him and teach our children about Him, it seems as if we are missing the mark some how.
So for the next few days I have decided that maybe I have to dedicate a special time for God & me to hang out. I know it shouldn't be just for those few days, but for now just enough time for me to re-examine what it is that we aren't doing right. Please pray for me as I take this journey as I might find out things that may be hard to hear from Him. That I might find things I wasn't ready to find or see truths I wasn't ready to know....
Well it's time to start my day! The little ones are beggin for food! Have a blessed day and may the Lord bless you and keep you!
Love Jacki
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Answered Prayers!!!
We want to thank everybody who has had Rylie and our Family in your prayers! Rylie was able to come home from the hospital and has continued to improve over the past 48 hours! We are still working on the eating part but she is drinking out of her sippy cups now and is taking Breast Milk from a bottle now too. The doctors were very surprised at how fast she went from really sick to recovering! All I have to say is "Prayer Works!" and for those of you who prayed along side Kevin and I over this little girl...it worked! God is awesome!
We have figured out that Rylie had a viral stomach bug and then she got E.Coli 0157(I think) which is very bad for anybody who gets it! That is why she spiraled out of control so fast with the dehydration. Dr. Stadalsky is absolutely awesome and came to the hospital to make sure she was doing okay. We saw him in the office on Friday afternoon as a followup and he agrees we are not out of the woods yet but we are going in that direction. Doctors orders: Pray, hydrate and rest! We love our pediatrician!
As for the rest of the family, we are doing good! We are glad to be back in the house all together! Kevin and I have started a small group at our new church and we love it. We are excited about what God has in store for us this year! We know it will be full of blessings and great happenings!
Danielle is also improving! She has her normal 5 year old issues! But that is to be expected when all of her 5 year old friends at school act the same way! Oh the joys of school aged children!
Well off to start the day!
Much love,
Jacki
We have figured out that Rylie had a viral stomach bug and then she got E.Coli 0157(I think) which is very bad for anybody who gets it! That is why she spiraled out of control so fast with the dehydration. Dr. Stadalsky is absolutely awesome and came to the hospital to make sure she was doing okay. We saw him in the office on Friday afternoon as a followup and he agrees we are not out of the woods yet but we are going in that direction. Doctors orders: Pray, hydrate and rest! We love our pediatrician!
As for the rest of the family, we are doing good! We are glad to be back in the house all together! Kevin and I have started a small group at our new church and we love it. We are excited about what God has in store for us this year! We know it will be full of blessings and great happenings!
Danielle is also improving! She has her normal 5 year old issues! But that is to be expected when all of her 5 year old friends at school act the same way! Oh the joys of school aged children!
Well off to start the day!
Much love,
Jacki
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Please pray for Rylie Grace!
First I want to thank my friends for checking in on us for the last 5 days while we have been in the hospital with Rylie. We really appreciate the love and support that you all have offered and we blessed to have such great people in our life! Secondly, Jen, thank you for bringing your laptop up to me today so I could update our blog and share with the rest of friends and family what it is that is going on up here!
Just a recap of how we got to where we are at today....
On Friday night Rylie woke up and started throwing up. This was a very short stint of it and was acting fine a few hours later. She had NO diarrhea. She was eating, drinking and never ran a fever. I figured as did the pediatrician that she probably was having some reflux issues and told me to start her Zantac again that night before bed. On Saturday we attended a birthday party and the girls had a blast. While were at the birthday party Rylie started having some really bad watery poops and continued to throughout the day. After 2 at the party we decided to leave. She continued to have 21 diapers that day between 130 and 7pm that night. I took her to urgent care where they said that she probably had a virus and that I should restrict any food and breastfeeding and to just give her pedialyte. I tried to follow his orders to best of my ability except for the breastfeeding part which I knew from past experience was not true. By Sunday morning Rylie seemed to be acting better but not normal. We ran an errand really quick then we came home and we napped. She woke up vomiting and still have multiple diarrhea diapers at which time I called Plantation Pediatrics and had the doctor return my phone call.
The Dr. shared with me that he was concerned and that if she hadn't kept down a nursing by 6 pm that I was to take her in to the ER for hydration. Since Rylie was not able to keep any thing including the breast milk down we opted for going to Summerville Medical which was the closest hospital to us. By the time they got Rylie back they could see she was in trouble. Her muscle tone was not good and she was awake but unable to physically respond to you. They decided shortly after 2 220cc blouses that she was in need of more care and they transferred us via ambulance to MUSC Children's Hospital which is where we are at now. They have been really good(except they take a really long time to get test results back to you) and Rylie is slowly recovering. She is still on IV Fluids around the clock and we are really trying to get her to eat and drink on her own but she wont. I am hoping that after today she will. We have been praying over her little body and have called on our friends and family now. We are exhausted and we need as many prayer warriors as possible! We want to thank you all in advance for any prayerful support that you can contribute!
Also, you all should know that Danielle is and has been trending well in regards to her Bipolar D/O and we all know that is an answered prayer! Thank you all very much!
Have a blessed day!
Love,
Jacki &Kevin
Just a recap of how we got to where we are at today....
On Friday night Rylie woke up and started throwing up. This was a very short stint of it and was acting fine a few hours later. She had NO diarrhea. She was eating, drinking and never ran a fever. I figured as did the pediatrician that she probably was having some reflux issues and told me to start her Zantac again that night before bed. On Saturday we attended a birthday party and the girls had a blast. While were at the birthday party Rylie started having some really bad watery poops and continued to throughout the day. After 2 at the party we decided to leave. She continued to have 21 diapers that day between 130 and 7pm that night. I took her to urgent care where they said that she probably had a virus and that I should restrict any food and breastfeeding and to just give her pedialyte. I tried to follow his orders to best of my ability except for the breastfeeding part which I knew from past experience was not true. By Sunday morning Rylie seemed to be acting better but not normal. We ran an errand really quick then we came home and we napped. She woke up vomiting and still have multiple diarrhea diapers at which time I called Plantation Pediatrics and had the doctor return my phone call.
The Dr. shared with me that he was concerned and that if she hadn't kept down a nursing by 6 pm that I was to take her in to the ER for hydration. Since Rylie was not able to keep any thing including the breast milk down we opted for going to Summerville Medical which was the closest hospital to us. By the time they got Rylie back they could see she was in trouble. Her muscle tone was not good and she was awake but unable to physically respond to you. They decided shortly after 2 220cc blouses that she was in need of more care and they transferred us via ambulance to MUSC Children's Hospital which is where we are at now. They have been really good(except they take a really long time to get test results back to you) and Rylie is slowly recovering. She is still on IV Fluids around the clock and we are really trying to get her to eat and drink on her own but she wont. I am hoping that after today she will. We have been praying over her little body and have called on our friends and family now. We are exhausted and we need as many prayer warriors as possible! We want to thank you all in advance for any prayerful support that you can contribute!
Also, you all should know that Danielle is and has been trending well in regards to her Bipolar D/O and we all know that is an answered prayer! Thank you all very much!
Have a blessed day!
Love,
Jacki &Kevin
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Family Devotionals & updates
Good Morning everyone!
I am so glad to be writing this blog in better health! Although I still have a lot of pain in my tummy, I have not been as tired as I usually have been. Its definitely Gods hand. The Doctors told me I would be in bed for 3-4 weeks with this Mono. Guess what?! Its only been 1 week and 3 days! I have tried to keep my spirits up and pray everyday for a healing! And I believe that I have been healed or at least am on the way to recovery! Praise God!
Well I thought I should give a little family update since its been awhile since I have updated!
Danielle: She is doing remarkably well.She has her good and bad days, but overall compared to the months and years leading to now, she is doing VERY well. Once again, being thankful in the midst of this storm has really changed my perspective on things. I am excited about what is to come for her! We got her a Princess Devotional which has been awesome. That has been a " Mommy & Danielle" activity and we have really enjoyed doing it together. Last night was so precious. At the end of the devotionals we talk about how each topic is related to our life and then we pray. Last night was about trusting Gods will and they used the story of Abraham's servant going to get Issac a wife from where his family was and the servant Trusted God and prayed the whole way that he would find the "right" wife for Issac. The one that God wanted for Issac. But anyways, Danielle was very interested in the story and was asking a lot of questions and one of the questions was : "Mommy, does God have a husband like daddy for me? I am going to marry my daddy when I grow up." I explained to her that since he was already married to me that he couldn't marry her. But one day God would put the right person in her life and he would be as good as daddy or better! The devotional touched on other things too but this is what stood out to me.
Rylie: Rylie has not had any breathing episodes in over 2 weeks now. We decided the steroids were causing her to fall alot and that her irritability was caused from them too. She hasn't had an episode since. Praise God! Other then that she has been a totally wild and crazy 18 month old little girl! Running, jumping yelling and messy as anything!
Kevin and I are doing well. We have been attending Cathedral of Praise together and the messages have really got us thinking praying and acting. Which I think is most important. The Lord has plans for us and they are going to be awesome!
So we are overall doing pretty well! Thank goodness!
Well have a blessed day!
Jacki
I am so glad to be writing this blog in better health! Although I still have a lot of pain in my tummy, I have not been as tired as I usually have been. Its definitely Gods hand. The Doctors told me I would be in bed for 3-4 weeks with this Mono. Guess what?! Its only been 1 week and 3 days! I have tried to keep my spirits up and pray everyday for a healing! And I believe that I have been healed or at least am on the way to recovery! Praise God!
Well I thought I should give a little family update since its been awhile since I have updated!
Danielle: She is doing remarkably well.She has her good and bad days, but overall compared to the months and years leading to now, she is doing VERY well. Once again, being thankful in the midst of this storm has really changed my perspective on things. I am excited about what is to come for her! We got her a Princess Devotional which has been awesome. That has been a " Mommy & Danielle" activity and we have really enjoyed doing it together. Last night was so precious. At the end of the devotionals we talk about how each topic is related to our life and then we pray. Last night was about trusting Gods will and they used the story of Abraham's servant going to get Issac a wife from where his family was and the servant Trusted God and prayed the whole way that he would find the "right" wife for Issac. The one that God wanted for Issac. But anyways, Danielle was very interested in the story and was asking a lot of questions and one of the questions was : "Mommy, does God have a husband like daddy for me? I am going to marry my daddy when I grow up." I explained to her that since he was already married to me that he couldn't marry her. But one day God would put the right person in her life and he would be as good as daddy or better! The devotional touched on other things too but this is what stood out to me.
Rylie: Rylie has not had any breathing episodes in over 2 weeks now. We decided the steroids were causing her to fall alot and that her irritability was caused from them too. She hasn't had an episode since. Praise God! Other then that she has been a totally wild and crazy 18 month old little girl! Running, jumping yelling and messy as anything!
Kevin and I are doing well. We have been attending Cathedral of Praise together and the messages have really got us thinking praying and acting. Which I think is most important. The Lord has plans for us and they are going to be awesome!
So we are overall doing pretty well! Thank goodness!
Well have a blessed day!
Jacki
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Christmas in pictures...
Well its hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and so has the New Year! By the way, Happy New Year 2009! I am sure you all have noticed that I havent posted in awhile, but there is good reason, I promise!
I will explain later though. So now without further ado.....the Christmas pictures you all have been waiting for:
This is Kevin and I at his Christmas party for work! He did have a collared shirt on but after 2 hours of dancing he got hot!
This is Kevins "Mimi" with the girls. She bought those adorable dresses for the girls!
Danielle was so precious! She kept twirling around like she was the sugerplum fairy!
Rylie in front of the tree on Christmas Eve! "Me want, me want" She is saying!
This is Rylies new face that she does when she is excited or frustrated! She couldnt wait to get into the presents and we were trying to distract her with the baby.
This was Rylie's Favorite gift of the night!
This was Danielle's! It's a doggie daycare set!
This is a family pic minus Rylie becasue she was all pictured out for the night!
This was what Santa left us!
Danielle on her "Big Wheel"! Santas big present!
Rylie in her Big Santa gift...Her car!
High School Musical game that she wanted...
Rylie in her stocking! She wanted the chocolate!
The mess after all of the opening...
We spent Christmas at home and we enjoyed it so much! The day was just a perfect family day. The kids got up around 700am and we open presents until about 8 or so. The kids of course got way more then they could have ever played with but it was fun seeing their faces! Rylie even tore into her presents without much help! Besides her car that Santa brought her I think her stocking was her favorite thing. That girl has a sweet tooth!
We opened every toy they got before the day was over and we had a great time playing with them. The kids were on a sugar high so they went to bed a little late but thats okay! As far as New years eve, we did nothing. We sat on the couch and watched Dick Clarks rockin new years eve show and then Kevin rang in the new alone eating fudge we got for Christmas. I woke up at 12:04 am and rewound the Tv and watched the ball drop at 12:06am and then I brought in the new year in Kevins arms and sealed it with a kiss! It was perfect for us!
Now, for the depressing news: (if you want to read this go ahead, but my feelings wont be hurt if you dont)
The week before Chrsitmas I had been having Migrane headaches everyday. Severe enough that I was having a hard time doing anything but laying still. On the 7th day of the headaches Kevin took me to the urgent care place by our house to find out what was going on. It all went down hill from there. My blood pressure was pretty high. High enough that they thought if I didnt get to the hospital, they were afraid that I was going to stroke out. I am getting scared by this time and they transport me to the hospital where I stayed most of the day (Saturday after Christmas). After many, many tests they confirm that it was not a stroke or Menegitis but Mononucleosis. WHAT!!?? How does a stay-at-home mom at age 26 get the kissing disease?
Anyways, I have been feeling a little better and my new Doctor has told me why the pain in my stomach is getting worse. I guess it is a complication that can happen when you have your Gallbladder taken out. It has something to do with my bile sphincter of Oddi. I dont know. I will know more about it on the 13th when I go for a scope of the tummy. I Just want the pain to be gone! The pain meds make me absolutley sick to my stomach and extremely sleepy. Until the date where they fix it all up and make me feel better I might not be able to keep up the blog. But as in my previous post I am still keeping the verse in my prayers and that might be what has kept my spirits up. Being thankful in the midst of everything good or bad. I know easier said then done but it working for me right now.
Well I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I have many more but it has taken me practically all day just to get this far! Hope you have a blessed day and wonderful new year!
Jacki
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