Scope

Tate's scope today went great. The Dr. said he is doing well, there is no compression and that we didn't need his services any longer (ENT). YEAH!!!!! Tate did well, the nurses and staff like having him for a patient, he is extremely laid back, he gets that from his daddy. He had some mild soreness when he woke up and wasn't too happy but he eventually came around, ate a really big breakfast and has played really well. He is napping now.

I am so extremely thankful for Children's Hospital but let me tell you I hate being there. Every fiber in my being screams that we don't belong, I'm tired to being there and having Tate go through so much and yet I know it could be much worse. I guess at times like these it just compounds the sadness I feel for Tate and what he has to endure. I am watching and listening as a friend goes through grief and healing from a loss of a son and when I think of her and how much I hate for Tate to have to go the hospital and have all this stuff done to him, when I feel like for some things God can't relate, I do feel peace in knowing he does to the suffering and loss of a son. It fascinates me that through having children you can learn so much of God's love for us. And in the end I have nothing to complain about.

Tate's ENT appointment

Tate had a check-up today with his ENT and all his doctors are amazed at how well he is doing. We are very happy that Tate is growing, doing normal activities for his age and continuing to be a testament to God's goodness and healing. The Dr. wants to do a scope on Tate to see how he looks from his last surgery. We are scheduled for that on July the 1st at Children's. He is hoping that Tate's case can be a learning experience and provide information for future surgeries. For those of you who don't remember Tate had compression from his first surgery that was causing him to have asthma symptoms and reoccurring pneumonia. I am thankful that his surgeon took the time to have an ENT come in to do a scope to find out what the problem was. Apparently with his repair his aorta was compressing his bronchial tubes which made them not work effectively. The Dr. then moved his aorta over a bit and was able to stop the compression. Since it has been over 6 months his ENT wants to take another look and make sure all looks well. So pray for Tate, it will be an outpatient procedure and shouldn't be too big of a deal or take too long. Tate is an amazing child, he continues to astound me on almost a daily basis. What a blessing he is.

Gulf Shores '09

We had a blast in Gulf Shores last week. Both the boys loved playing at the beach and we got to do all sorts of fun stuff. Tate even went parasailing with me and JP, can you believe it? He loved it, Caden did too. Hopefully my sister got some pics of that because I didn't have my camera. We got to swim in the pool they had there and they even had a playground at the condo. We took them to a little park where they got to ride rides and even drive go carts. The big boys got to play golf and go deep sea fishing (they had a blast and brought home lots of fish) and us girls got to go shopping, it was so fun and we got some great things. Amy and I took the boys to an alligator farm, it was fun and interesting but very hot, I was glad to get out of that place, they had a gigantic alligator whose name was Captain Crunch. The guide said he was in time out because he didn't play well with others. The boys thought that was funny, but he was isolated. Tate got a little alligator at the gift shop and named him "little crunch". Totally original my boy Tate is. Anyway, we had a great time, can't wait to do it again. Here are some pics.

White River '09

Well it was probably the most rainy weekend we have ever spent there but we still had fun. The boys got to fish a little bit but they didn't get to go out on the boat. Of course they loved playing in the water, including Seth. Did I mention the water is about 40 degrees there? Seth ran right into it, go figure. I'm really going to have to watch him in the water this summer. He is fearless. Anyway we had a good time but I'm glad to be home. Still trying to catch up on some sleep. Got to visit with some family. Thanks for the good time with the balloons Aunt Donna. They are still playing with them. Here are some pics. I can't wait until the boys get old enough to really enjoy fishing and spending time with their dads. Seth loves being outside.

Tate's 4th Birthday

Tate is 4!!!! Can you believe it? It is hard for me to imagine that it has been 4 years since he was born. Man the things we have gone through since his birth. Many blessing and many hardships. There is no way I would of thought of the plans God had for us with Tate's birth. He sure if full of surprises sometimes. Tate has been such a blessing and JP and I are so thankful to have him. He is doing so well and I'm so glad that he is a normal child that is able to do all the things 4 year olds get to do. Praise God.

His party was at Party Central which is a jump place for children. He loves going to parties there and insisted that he have his party there also. We had a blast. That place is so fun to play at and even the adults get to play too. All his friends had an awesome time and the parents did as well. Tate got lots of gifts and we feel so blessed to have such a great cloud of friends and family around us. Can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 4 years.

Enjoy the pictures.

T-ball, Tate and the Rockhounds

Hey gang, so I told you I would update the blog when Tate started t-ball and it has started. The practices so far weren't going very well. Tate cried the first practice, he seemed to be really tired. JP was giving me an "I told you so" look, he thinks we started him way to early while I think this is just the right time. It is a good thing for me too because I am getting to see how Tate does physically and even though I'm trying not to judge too quickly I don't see Tate playing sports in the future. Well ones that require much running and continuous exercise. He is the slowest one on the team and seems to need breaks pretty often. Of course what is good now is that he doesn't have to run very far and they don't care how slow you are. T-ball is a pretty fun activity to watch, they are adorable.

His first game went really well though. They were all excited to be in their uniforms and at the ballpark. He was the first one to bat and he did very well, they all did. He tends to lose focus so I'm glad he is the first batter. He likes to play in the dirt when he is on the field, doesn't really care much about catching a ball. There is also a train track that goes by right behind the field so that is entertaining for the kids to watch. I think he will be pretty athletic so I'm going to try and see if golf can interest him, eventually. Don't want to think about paying for that one.

We got him a heart guard and he likes to tell his friends to punch him in the heart, I don't find that very amusing, hopefully the newness of that will wear off soon. So we will try all the sports for now and see how he does. But like I said, I'm voting for golf.

AWANA Grand Prix '09

Last Sunday was our AWANA Race car night and Tate came in 4th place. He had so much fun, JP and I were so excited. I think Tate really enjoyed the attention but really didn't care if his car won or not. He was the youngest winner and represented the Cubbies well. YEAH Tate!!!

This is Tate with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

The boys are doing well. Here are some random pics. Seth crawled up in Tate's lap to watch cartoons the other day, I thought it was so cute so I had to take a pic.

Tate is fixing to start T-ball very soon. Hopefully he will enjoy it and we won't hate all the time that we have to devote to practices and games. I'm starting to wonder if we started him too early. He is going to be playing sports for a long time. I hope this transition will be a good one.