Little Fighter

Well, our little baby is developing his first shiner- can't you see it? Over on the top of his right cheek? Okay, it will probably not develop into a full black eye or anything, but it's a pretty good little knot...once you get close to it. As active and 'Tim-like' as he is, he has somehow yet to hurt himself to the point of any noticeable marks. The hilarious part of this one- I'm sure Tim wishes I could say he got it wresting a mountain lion or testing out a sweet Red Rider BB gun. But...no, he got it by playing with his great-grandmother's walker. It was propped against the wall, and he was messing around with it. Before I even knew what happened, he was laying in the floor with the walker on top of him...screaming. Hey, in his defense (and especially Tim's), it was one heavy walker.

Posing for Uncle Danno

When Uncle Danno came in a couple of weeks ago, he took a few pictures of McClain and sent them to us. I thought he did a great job of capturing McClain's oh-so-sweet smile. You can tell he loves you by that adorable look, Danno! Thanks for the pics and for being a great uncle.

Couldn't Resist

This is what happens sometimes when Daddy is in charge of changing McClain into his pajamas at night- they tend to get a little distracted. I came back in the room and they had made their way over to the toy box in the middle of the changing process. Oh well, boys will be boys. Plus, I knew this about Tim long before I married him. He is easily distracted, but it makes him playful and fun, and I love it about him!

Hilton Head

This week we went to Hilton Head with my parents, my sister and my niece. It was a short trip- Friday through Tuesday- but we had a great time! McClain loved the beach, as always. We also rented bikes because Hilton Head has bike trails everywhere. We were even able to ride them on the beach, which was a wonderful experience. Our last day we took McClain to The Sandbox, an interactive children's museum there on the island. He had such a great time, and it did a perfect job of wearing him out nicely before we hit the road for the nearly 9 hour ride home! Here are a few pictures of our time there.

Final Sullivan Update

Sorry it has taken me so long to post an update. We have been out of town. But thanks to all of you who continue to ask about the girls, though, and for all of your prayers. It has been a whirlwind for the Sullivans the last few days. When we went to the hospital Thursday night, the story was that Ruthie still had severe brain damage, and the doctors had done an MRI on Maddie, concerned that she might have some brain damage too since Ruthie did. Unforunately, Maddie had damage as well. Mark and Kristin were preparing to spend at least another month at the hospital with their babies, then bring them both home- possibly very handicapped.
That was Thursday...now comes yesterday. Mark called us and told us that the doctors did another routine MRI on Ruthie, just to see if there was any change. Amazingly, Ruthie's brain damage was completely gone! The radiologists and the pediatrician all agreed that in all the years they have done their jobs, this has never happened. It was pretty much medically impossible. The Sullivans know, though, that nothing is impossible with God. The doctors went ahead and did another MRI on Maddie, too, to see if the same had happened to her. Sure enough, God healed Maddie as well. Both girls are nursing, taking their pacifiers, and interacting with others just as any other healthy 3-week old baby should. In fact, they all got to come home from the hospital today. God completely reversed their prognosis. He must have big plans for these girls and I cannot wait to watch him use them and this situation to His glory!
As you may remember, Maddie has a heart condition that will cause her to undergo open-heart surgery at 6 months. Today they saw the cardiologist for a routine appt before they left the hospital. They checked her heart, and her heart disease is not the severe one they thought it was. Turns out, it is not as bad as they thought, and IF she has to still have surgery, it won't be necessary for at least another year! God is taking care of them in so many ways, it is overwhelming.
Thank you for your prayers and all of the concern you have all showed for this family. Clearly God has heard all of the prayers offered on their behalf, and He chose to heal them completely. Medical miracles are one of God's greatest ways of reminding people that He is still alive and active in our lives on a daily basis. Let us never forget this and never doubt his power!

Columbus Day

We are very blessed that Tim has the priveledge of bankers' hours. He gets off more little holidays than anyone I know. Monday he was off for Columbus Day, so we took off mid-weekend for a short trip to Gatlinburg. We had a wonderful time just getting away and spending some family time together. Here are a few pics from the fun weekend as well as a few of McClain receiving his belated birthday gift from his uncle "Danno" when he stopped by for a visit on his way to Virginia. Thanks Danno! Side Note: We do not have any relation to the girl in the picture of McClain on the swings...she's just a carni...not with us.

Sullivan Update- October 10th

The Sullivan's need your prayers now possibly more than ever. Today the results of the MRI showed that Ruthie has a substantial amount of brain damage. They are now running tests to find out if this brain damage was there before all of this and perhaps even the cause of it or if it is damaged because of the temperature she developed as well as her moments of oxygen loss. The tests will also show what Mark and Kristin should expect the rest of her life to be like. All they know now is that her entire brain is severely damaged. God is still the ultimate physician, so please do not give up praying for Ruthie...

Sullivan Update- October 9th

Well, today was full of ups and downs for the Sullivan's. Throughout the night, the doctors took Ruthie off of her breathing tube, and she only lasted about 15 minutes on her own before she stopped breathing again. However, since then she has had times that she has lasted a full hour without the tube, which is a tremendous blessing. We hope that is a sign of possible recovery. Her seizure activity has majorly slowed down as well- praise God.
Maddie is improving more and more by the minute. She has been moved to a less critical room (not quite a regular room yet, though), and tonight her Grandfather was even able to hold her and give her a bottle once they removed the feeding tube.
Tonight Ruthie was to have an MRI performed to check for a few things- one, is there some sort of brain abnormality that is causing her problems to still be present or even if part of her brain never fully developed before birth, and two, to see if the numerous breathing lapses and seizures have caused any permanent brain damage. The thought of any of these options makes my stomach turn. We will find out the results tomorrow.
I know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer when we don't know what to say, and I am so thankful for that right now. It feels like you can't pray as "hard" as your heart feels like it wants to, and its almost painful. My prayers are such a mix between pleas for Maddie and Ruthie and thanksgiving for McClain's incredible health. I know God has great plans for these little girls, and I know he will reveal these plans all in due time. Please keep praying...

Prayers Needed

Our very good friends, Mark and Kristin Sullivan are in desperate need of your prayers right now. Mark was Tim's roommate at Harding, and he and Kristin met there, dated, and married about 3 1/2 years ago. They now live in Nashville and the four of us continue to be great friends to this day.
About 10 days ago, Kristin gave birth to twin girls- Maddie and Ruthie. At first it seemed as though the girls were in great health, and they were able to come home. A few days later, they were sent back to the hospital with severe cases of jaundice. They quickly recovered, but while there, the doctors discovered that Maddie has a heart disease that has caused 3 holes in her heart. The girls were both sent back home, and they are planning on open-heart surgery when Maddie is 6-9 months old .
That's just background- now comes this weekend. Saturday night we got a call from Mark with the latest news. Friday night the girls would not nurse, and they were fuzzy all throughout the night. Saturday morning they both had fevers that spiked to 102.5 each. They called Vanderbilt Hospital and were told to bring them in immediately. While the doctors were running numerous tests to see what could be causing the fevers, Kristin decided to feed Ruthie. While doing so, Ruthie stopped breathing. The nurses ripped her from her mother's arms to "bag" her. They successfully brought her breath back. Minutes later, a seizure followed. Then, on the way for a CT scan, Ruthie stopped breathing again. By the way, while all of this is going on...Maddie is doing all the same things.
Fast forward to tonight...Tim and I went to the hospital to see them. Maddie is doing better. She is not having as many seizures, and is breathing on her own. They may soon move her from critical care to a regular room. She does have the heart disease, though, so she needs all the strength she can get. Ruthie, on the other hand, is not doing as well. She continues to have 4-5 seizures every hour, and cannot breathe on her own. She has a breathing tube (as well as many other tubes and wires) attached to her that is functioning almost as a life-support system. Every now and then they take the tube out and she breathes on her own. Eventually, though, she stops breathing- sometimes she catches it and begins to breathe on her own again, but not always, so the tube is keeping her with us right now.
If you are still reading...please pray for these baby girls. They are not even 2 weeks old yet, and are already fighting for their lives. The doctors think it may be a virus causing it all, but they are not sure yet. Let's pray it is, it runs its course, and these girls return to full health. Mark and Kristin and their families are like family to us, and we love them dearly. Please pray for them as well. They need strength, courage, and they need to keep faith in the One who gave them Maddie and Ruthie to begin with. Thank you so much for reading this and for all of your prayers. I'll keep this blog posted with any and all updates. God Bless...

Gentry's Farm

Today our life group at church went out to Gentry's Farm. There was so much to do there- a pumpkin patch, a hay ride, games, animals, and so much more. We all had a great time. The weather wasn't very cooperative- 91 degrees in October isn't really what we all expected. But, we had a blast spending time together and letting the kids enjoy the festivities. Here are a few pics from the big day.

Allergic Reaction

Well, life just got a little more complicated. My son is allergic to...of all things...peanuts. Last night we gave him a small amount of a peanut-butter sandwich and he broke out in hives all over. We gave him some benedryl, and this morning some of the hives are gone, but not all of them yet. The doctor said they could last for 2-3 days. He's itching all over and his ears are exremely red and hot to the touch even still. He's pretty miserable.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are such an easy meal to pack and take when you are in a hurry or when you don't have time to cook a meal at home. Tim and I could live on them, so McClain's allergy to them will be a slight conflict.
The doctor said try it again in a year, though, and that he might grow out of it- I hope so...peanuts are everywhere and sneak their way into all types of food. But for now, I have to try my best to make sure they don't sneak their way into his food. I just hope he starts to feel better soon- you all know my son is rarely unhappy, so he must feel terrible this time! Oh well, we'll try it again in a year!!!