Activation Day

June 10th, 2013 was Gavin's hearing birthday. The first day he's ever heard sound of any sort. A day we'd been waiting for since he was 4 weeks old. And what a cherished and miraculous memory it will forever be for us. We are so thankful for this amazing technology that enables kids- who would've otherwise gone their entire lives stuck in a silent world-to finally hear. Now the hard work really begins for us and for Gavin as we work to catch him up on a lost year of speech and listening. Cochlear implants certainly aren't an instantaneous "fix." It will be through weekly speech therapy sessions and a continuous devotion to practice and repetition of sounds and listening that Gavin will learn to communicate and develop normal speech just like any other kid. It will be harder for him and wont come as naturally as it does for others, but due to his early implantation age, Gavin's prognosis is excellent and his speech should be clear and entirely unaffected as he grows. We are praising Jesus for bringing us over the hurdle of the past year and back to the starting line of a fresh new beginning for our precious son.

 

"Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

 

-Dr. Seuss

 

  

Gavin's 1st Birthday

       Gavin tuned one on June 6th and we celebrated with a pool party at my parent's backyard retreat. It was a beautiful afternoon and we filled the backyard with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and lots of happy, splashing kiddos. Gavin loves to be in the water and seemed quite pleased by the chosen venue. What a blessing to celebrate this guy's first year of life and the adventures that await him in the year to come. 

Gavin,

Wow, what a year it has been. Holding you for the first time in that hospital room, I had no idea how much our lives were going to be changed by your arrival or just how far out of our comfort zone God was going to ask us to step. We were so unprepared for the heartbreak we would feel when we were blindsided by your diagnoses. A parent can never be prepared for that. I held you and wept over you for hours and days and weeks trying to wrap my mind around what wasn't supposed to be happening. You were so perfect to us, so tiny and full of possibilities. I thought I would never be able to look at you without feeling overwhelming sadness and that physical ache in my heart. The road ahead looked dark and unfamiliar and I just wanted to go backwards, back to the delivery room, back to the naivety of not knowing.

But then slowly, tenderly, God showed us how to be brave. He reminded us that HE created you. That HE knit you together so perfectly for us and that HE never makes mistakes. God asked us to be brave for you, to teach you to hold your head high and be strong, even when it seems scary. He reminded us that HE was dancing over you and that He was so delighted in you. He urged us to speak boldness over you and pray continuously that your testimony would point to Jesus. He assured us that He would walk the dark and unfamiliar road beside us, and carry us when we thought we couldn't go on. He called us to rest in His peace-the peace that passes earthly understanding- and entrust you to Him. He promised that He was far bigger than anything we would ever face on earth so we didn't need to be afraid.

And we began to heal. We began to get stronger and we began to see God's heart for you. When we look at you now we are filled with indescribable joy. What a faithful God we serve. He will never let go of your hand, Gavin. God has called you to be a mighty warrior for Him. Your hearing loss will never define you. It will only give you a deeper compassion for the needs of others and ears finely tuned to the voice of God. Your testimony has only just begun. Happy first birthday, our sweet and charming boy. How very lucky we are to be your mommy and daddy.

xoxo

Happy Birthday Norah Dee!

 I have to admit, this birthday was a tough one for me. There is something so fleeting and unbelievably precious about the innocence of a 2-year-old daughter. I was kind of hoping that Norah might just stay our little one forever. But alas, May 1st came and went and now she is 3. I'm praying this isn't the year that she stops asking for a "yoyurk carfe" for breakfast, or else my heart might break.

Norah Dee, it is an honor to have you as a daughter. Your personality is like a jar of jumping jelly beans. Everything delights you, everything makes you laugh, everything is the best news you've ever heard in your life. Except when it's not. And then oh boy, do you ever know how to pout. You bounce through your days eager for the next activity and always up for anything your big brother tells you to do. Because of him, you've learned how to be pretty tough. You request peanut butter and jelly every single day for lunch even though you never eat more than 2 bites and then lose interest. You are persistent and silly and great at making other people feel special. You love with your whole heart and its pretty easy to be melted by your cuteness...even when you're really really mad.
Happy 3 years sweet girl!

Happy Birthday Eli!

Yesterday Eli turned 5 years old. It turns out he inherited his mother's slight (barely noticeable really) tendency to be a birthday diva. We heard a lot of, "I can do that because it's MY birthday", and "Its still my day, my birthday isn't over until next week" kind of comments. I'm sure it will be just as charming when I repeat those sentiments come August. But anyway, he was one excited little boy. We celebrated with an overnight hotel trip, lots of swimming, eating out, ice-cream, new golf clubs, his pick of the dinner menu, and more ice-cream.

 

Eli, what a huge personality you have. You are loud and strong and can talk just about any of your friends into doing anything you come up with. Already, you are such a leader. You are the best child-negotiator I've ever met and will someday have quite the booming sales career, if you don't end up competing for the MMA championship instead. Your favorite question is "why" and you tell BIG stories, so we know you have a  fantastic imagination that will always keep you dreaming. You are tenderhearted and kind, and love to do things that will make people feel happy. You have a keen sense of observation, often complimenting me on a new shirt or the way I've rearranged the pantry. Life is one big race to you, and you are in it to win it. If we give you a task and a timer countdown, you will not disappoint in meeting any goals. God knew that your parents could never be satisfied with a docile, laid-back, shy little boy. And so he gave us you. And we couldn't be more thankful for the amazing kid that you are becoming. You are going to be a world changer, little one.

Happy 5 years! xoxo

 

Introducing Gavin Michael

A little less than 48 hours ago, we celebrated the birth of our third baby and second boy in our family. Gavin Michael was born on Wednesday night at 10:03pm and was 7lbs 2oz and 2 days late. My labor with him was mostly a blur and went so quickly that I wasn't even completely convinced I was in true labor until my water broke in the car on our way to the hospital. After being triaged and admitted to L&D I decided I most definitely wanted an epidural (NOW please!) and wasn't up for the experience of another natural birth. I received nods and "we'll sees" from both the nurses and my midwife, who knew there wasn't a chance that we had time for that and I eventually quit begging when I realized it was time to push and my complaining wasn't going to get the baby out any faster. My midwife and John were both amazingly supportive and worked hard to keep me focused and from losing my mind during the whole experience. And once that beautiful baby boy was in my arms, all was mostly forgotten and I was one very grateful mama. Gavin came out with the rarity of having his umbilical cord tied into a complete knot and the nurses and midwife were all shocked by how healthy and perfect he was, as apparently infants with this condition in-utero do not typically have "happy" outcomes because the blood & nutrient flow to the baby is compromised. John told them that we serve a mighty God and we were certainly praising Him for protecting our son's life. Thank you Jesus!

There is nothing so sweet as that newborn baby smell, the little grunts, and a tiny warm body cuddled up on your chest. I know there are many sleepless nights and long, exhausting days to come, but I'm not worried about those right now. With each new baby, I realize a little more how precious these early days are and how quickly they will pass and become distant memories. So I am soaking them up and feeling so overwhelmingly happy and blessed tonight with our new little family of 5.

The umbilical knot

                           

Happy 2nd Birthday Norah!

Hard to believe that our sweet baby girl is 2 now. 

Miss Norah, you just melt your daddy and I's hearts with your silly personality and on-the-ready giggles. You definitely have a bit of sass and strong-willfulness to go along with it, but we understand that you get that from both of us and so we can't really fault you too much for it. You have a big vocabulary and amaze us by what you understand and can explain to us already. And you have a big brother who loves you so much, even though he may express it by torturing you most of the time. We can't wait to see how nurturing you are going to be as a big sister. Thanks for helping us to get a jump-start on our days by being our early morning alarm clock and for always keeping us laughing. We love you.

Happy 4th Birthday Eli!

Saturday Eli turned 4, and although he bounced out of bed like it was Christmas, I kind of wanted to swaddle him up in a miracle blanket and weep over him. 4 is definitely the end of the toddler phase and the beginning of  the rough and tumble, independent little boy one. And it just does go by way too fast. On the other hand, year 3 definitely had lots of challenging parenting moments and battles of the will and John and I are hoping that with a little more maturity will come a little more obedience as well.

We started the morning with a special Bob Evan's pancake breakfast where Eli polished off all of his meal and most of mine as well. That boy can pack away the food. Then it was back home to try out his new power wheels while his kind daddy stood outside in the freezing rain and cheered him on. In the afternoon Eli's cousins Max, Gabe, and Shayden came over for a boy's bowling birthday party. Eli had originally requested to go boating on his birthday and then changed his plans to bowling once we explained that boating wasn't going to work in April. After bowling it was back to our house for pizza, ice-cream cake, and 4 maniacs on a sugar-high screeching wild throughout the house. There was lots of giggling and bizarre story-telling and Eli couldn't have been any happier. When we put him bed that night he was asleep within 5 minutes, which is saying something for the boy that is normally still running around his room when I turn in for the night.

Happy Birthday Eli. You are one pretty amazing kid and we are so lucky to have the privilege of guiding you as you grow and discover another year of your life. God has some mighty big plans for you little man!

Bob Evans Breakfast

Norah was thankful Eli had a birthday so she could eat some french toast. She ate everything on this plate plus a piece of sausage, 2 cups of milk, and then attempted to drink the syrup until we cut her off

Power wheels in the rain

The boys outside the bowling alley. Eli, Gabe, Max, & Shayden

Eli was the self-designated bowling director. He stood next to whoever was up and said "pause" with his hand up until the pins were set-up and ready to go

Pizza and story telling

Gifts

Chocolate mint-Oreo ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen. 

(okay, so maybe his pregnant mom chose the cake. so what?)