Pray for Evan

One of Ethan's classmates needs prayer tonight. Evan was taken to the hospital and possibly suffered from a stroke and currently has a rising 102 fever. Evan is a sweet little boy who has brought so much to the classroom since he came. Please join us in praying for his speedy recovery! We love you, Evan!

Ethan continues to do well post-op. He didn't even take any pain meds today. He is eating and drinking like normal, too. We are prepared for this to change in a few days. We have yogurt, sherbert, applesauce, and pudding ready to go. Thanks to everyone who continue to check in on him.

Surgery in more detail

First of all, thank you to everyone who was and is continuing to pray for Ethan's recovery! He is doing really well as of today- eating, drinking, and laughing like normal. We are told that by Day 5, we might be singing a different tune, though. :(

So, even though Ethan's tonsils were not terribly enlarged pre-surgery, our ENT did tell us that as soon as Ethan was sedated and sleeping, the tonsils did drop down to obstruct his airway. This should definitely help his obstructive sleep apnea, then. YAY.

We opted to stay overnight in the hospital to make sure that he would drink. Ethan has a history of not taking anything by mouth if it hurts, so we needed to be available to IV fluids. As, my play-by-play mentioned- sherbert was our friend, for sure. We gave him juice by a syringe, a couple of mL's at a time. The coldness of the sherbert was perfect. It was soothing enough to his throat for him to continue eating it.

We could definitely tell when the pain kicked in.

The big advantage of staying in the hospital was having IV morphine!

There was a slight bleeding problem the night of surgery. The doctor thinks that it came from the tongue, but it was still hard to see Ethan coughing up chunks of blood!

Ethan slept ok. He was up and down all night, but he was so groggy and never cried. I think he was just disoriented.

The next morning, I made up some juice, but he started swatting it away after only a few mL's. That scared me a little. But, then breakfast came and he ate all of his grits and then a whole sherbert cup. It was just the initial swallow that was the most difficult.

After eating, we started to see a little bit of our Bubs coming back to normal.


Ethan was especially all smiles when Daddy showed up. Then, they goofed around and I get to take silly pics like this:

A silly pic I absolutely love. ♥

We went home 24 hours after surgery and so far, so good. Keep praying! Spanx!

RAP

RAP is an acronym: Retards Attempting Poetry

Haha funny. No. Not so much.

This was the Facebook status of a teenage boy we know. I didn't really have time to write him a detailed explanation about why his seemingly harmless status was not cool, so I simply wrote "NOT COOL, NOT COOL AT ALL". Another person responded that it was funny to which I said, "NO, this is NOT funny at all". Then, the response that followed is what I wasn't expecting. Teenage boy's Aunt- a friend of ours (actually a friend of Scott's since childhood), defends the acronym and says that they find it pretty funny themselves.

How is it that such small statements can be so profound to knowing a person's true personality? I was in shock by the defense and support of the statement. I simply sent her a message with a link to www.r-word.org and that we expected a little more respect from someone who has claimed to care for Ethan.

From this point, I didn't expect to hear anything, but I did this morning. The reponse was more defense. I am so sick and tired of people getting defensive when it is brought to their attention that something is offensive/hurtful/insulting. Why can't people just sit back, reflect, and think for a moment about what we are trying to educate on? Hey, here's an idea...how about a little respect? Geez.

...Going home!

...ok night, attempting to drink now. Only got 2mL in before he started swatting it away.

...pain returned, difficulty swallowing, more morphine given along with tylenol. Sleeping again, praying for an uneventful evening.

...bleeding has stopped. He is now snuggled up to me resting.

Lime sherbert is our friend

...he is out, did well, will be on his way to recovery soon.

...In OR now

...He's drunk on versed, LOL.

Surgery Today

Ethan will be having a tonsilectomy and tongue reduction today. His palate will also be opened up a tad by pulling a stitch back by the pillars. The palate expansion was what I was most nervous about because I didn't exactly know what was going to be happening, but Ethan's ENT explained it to us on Wednesday. It is minor and will maybe give an extra millimeter or two of space. Seems like such a small amount, but it may be enough along with the other two procedures to keep him from having obstructive sleep apnea.

So, now that Ethan is a big nine year old, his surgery is not until this afternoon. Good news on that is that we didn't have to be at the hospital before God was awake. Bad news is that this child is now starving. Normally, we can distract him from really focusing on the fact that it is past breakfast, but not today. He is crying and so upset. :(

At least the surgical center just called and asked us to come in a half hour earlier...still, poor Bubs.

The Birthday.

Ethan had a wonderful birthday.  He went to school and got to have a little party with some other classes.  For his birthday dinner, we went to IHOP because Ethan's favorite food of all time is the pancake.  We had many friends join us to celebrate!  Overall, Ethan had two cupcakes, three pieces of cake, five silver dollar pancakes, and a quarter of my stacked pancake.  Do you sense a love of cake theme here?  LOL


The cake, a half sheet surrounded by cupcakes.  It is supposed to serve around 70  Yeah, there's none left...


You think he likes his cupcake?

Madison gave a very special birthday toast to the birthday boy...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

{video}

Taking a very important birthday call from California


WIPED OUT!

Since Ethan was too wiped out on his birthday to open presents, he opened them the next morning.  He got some great clothes, money for his Disney Fund,  and a Buzz Lightyear! 


Having fun with my present


LOL.  I think he looks so big here, though.

Scott and I took Ethan to Toys R Us after his pre-op appointment yesterday for his birthday balloon and present.  While there, we went back to the bikes and stuff.  Ethan has a new wish list...


(He is actually signing "want" in both of those pics)

Four Wheeler?

And...his new little pool.  We have had the big blow-up pools in the past, but they are just too hard to keep clean!  This is perfect just for him, and he LOVES it! 


Great birthday for Ethan!

NINE!

...then, 45 minutes later, you were here- forever holding our hearts. 

Happy Birthday to our little man, Boog's, Booger Butt, Bubs, Bubba, Bubby, Sneaker, Buster...Ethan. 

First picture.

The one and only picture Momma has with her little boy after he was born.

Daddy looks like he doesn't quite know what to do with you there in the nursery.  I think that he was just in shock that you were actually real!  :)

The polaroids that the EMS team gave me before they took you on your first road trip.  Unfortunately, it was to the children's hospital an hour away from home. 

My sweet boy, you have been through an incredible journey of life so far!  You are such a fighter and have so much determination (on your terms).  Anyone who meets you loves you.  You have lost 7 of your baby teeth, with an 8th very loose.  Maybe today is your day to lose it.  Tonight, we will celebrate with you at IHOP for dinner so that you can eat as many pancakes as you want. 

I am having a hard time with you turning 9.  It is hard to explain, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is your last year before you turn 10 and enter the double-digits of life.  It's all good, Bub's.  You're going to rock out Year Nine just like you did Year One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight.  Your Daddy and I thank God for blessing our lives with the honor of having you as our son. 

Happy Birthday my lovey boy. 

♫Happy Birthday to YOU!♫
♫Happy Birthday to YOU!♫

♫Happy Birthday Dear Ethan!♫

♫Happy Birthday to YOU!!!♫

Nine years ago today...

I was on maternity leave, anxiously awaiting Mr. Ethan's arrival.  I was relaxed and ready.  I got to talk to my sister, Kim, on the phone and go over all of the "has this/that happened yet?" questions.  I went to get my nails done by the fabulous Robin (miss those nails!) and my toes touched up for the occasion, cuz you know- pretty toes is the first thing the OB sees!  LOL.  I was having contractions, but nothing consistent or worrisome.  I remembered that I didn't have a nursing bra yet, so off to the mall it was.  Afraid to eat since I just knew I was going into labor, I had a cappuccino blast from Baskin Robbins.  I had my friend, Jessie, come over to help me with some things when the contractions started getting closer and closer.  When Jess was timing them and said that they were three minutes apart, we knew that we would be going to the hospital that night!  But, it was a Thursday, which meant FRIENDS and Whose Line Is It Anyway.  I was determined to not be one of those women who show up at the hospital 2 cm dilated when they feel like they are farther along!  So, we waited, watched, and laughed...

About 10pm, we went in to the hospital.  Guess what?  I was only 2 cm dilated!!!  I feared that I was in for a rough ride.  Luckily, there were not any other mothers laboring that night or else I would have been sent home.  The nurses had me walk around for an hour.  So, I walked and rocked, walked and rocked, walked and rocked...an hour later I was 4 cm!!!  We were not going home without a baby!!!  :)

Over the next hour, I did the same thing:  walk/rock/walk/rock/walk/rock...midnight check = 6cm!!!

And, then my water broke....

Faulkner Woodworks on Facebook!

Faulkner Woodworks



Become a Fan!  Scott has been working SO hard on his projects for many years.  He loves what he does and is very passionate about what he does.  He has such a talent and heart for building pieces out of recycled/reclaimed wood. 

His Etsy store and link on this blog are still under construction, but will be up {hopefully} soon. 

~THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT~

Inspiration *tissue warning*

Thanks Marlene for reminding me of this amazing duo!

Have you ever heard of Team Hoyt?  If so, then you already know what an inspiration they are!  If not, then prepare to be inspired...and, maybe shed a few tears.



And, another...


I could watch those videos over and over again in amazement and awe. 

What Would YOU Do?

Last night, ABC aired their program "What Would You Do?".  They play out scenarios with actors while being filmed by hidden cameras.  Some segments have included:  An abusive man with his bruised girlfriend in a restaurant- do you say anything?; Airline pilots getting drunk at a bar before flight- do you say anything?;  Man lures drunk girl- do you step in?  Last night, one of the segments was titled "Woman Berates Grocery Clerk with Down Syndrome".  Please watch:



Now, ask yourself, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? 

This is why we fight so hard against the "R" word.  It is used to berate people, and IT IS NOT OK!  So, do all of us a favor who have a loved one who is the easy target, please please please STOP using the "R" word, and please do not be silent if someone is being abused such as in this scenario. 

I wish that I could go to Brooklyn and personally give the women that stood up for Josh a big hug of thanks! 

PBG Update

Got the "thanks, but no thanks" e-mail this morning.  Guess it wasn't meant to be. :*(

The hardest part was telling Scott, who after being told let out a big sigh and hung his head with a bit of discouragement/disappointment.  I would be lying if I don't feel like I have totally let the family down.  I know that I could have done the job applied for and I know that I could have done it well. 

Onward...

(thank you to everyone who prayed, kept me in your thoughts, and asked for updates- I appreciate it so much!)