Prayer for Alex and James

Back in November, I took both boys to have a test called a bone age. I'm still unsure of James' results, but Alex failed his. He has only grown about 3/4 of an inch in the last year or so. My almost 3 year old son weighs 23 pounds, and is 32 3/4 inches tall. On January 7th, I took them both to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist. He asked me if any one had told me that if I just fed him right, that he would grow. I said that yes, people had said that to me. He then told me that those people are wrong. He told me that if I feed him more than I currently am, Alex will only get fat. He will not grow taller. The reason that Dr. Deeb believes this is because for his height, Alex is a perfect weight. He ordered lab work on Alex. He is and is not treating James at this point. It's easier to find a problem in a 2 year old than a 6 month old. So this past Monday, Tony and I took Alex to have the lab work done. Alex did wonderful!!! Yes, he cried. But, he didn't try to get out of my arms. He didn't scream. He just sat their and cried. James didn't cry either, for which Tony and I are thankful. They took 6 small vials from Alex. At this point that's all the news I have. I have done some research online, but at this point to speculate is pointless. I will say that if the problem is with a growth hormone, the next test will be anything but fun for me or Alex. But we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Amazingly, I'm not a basket case over this. I might get that way further down the line(especially if he has to endure the second test), but for now I'm ok. When I shared this information with my Administration Pastor on Wednesday, he stopped and prayed with me right there, and prayed that I would have the heart of Mary who knew that her Son was born to die, and yet she was calm. I know that God loves Alex more than I ever could(which has to be a lot because I love him soooo much). I know that God knows what is best for Alex. These events have made Tony and I look at our future differently. We were hoping to begin Seminary in about a year and a half, but if we leave Tony's current job, we would loose his health insurance and therefore loose the ability to take care of Alex. He would be labeled with a Pre-existing condition.

So pray with us as we face this trial in our lives. Pray that God would lead Dr. Deeb to the right diagnosis without much pain to Alex or James. Pray that healing would be possible for Alex and James. Pray that Tony and I would know the right thing to do about job/house/etc.

"But Mary took all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

Amanda 

Wow, it's been 2 months!!!

I have never been good at keeping a journal. I will try to do better by this blog. Thank you to those who follow my blog.
Well, since my last post we've celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving. For Halloween, Alex was a lion again. We just couldn't find a good costume for him this year, and he absolutely loved being a lion this year. James was a teddy bear. They were sooooo cute!! We didn't do much for Halloween this year. Last year we tried to go to one of the malls here in Tally, and we must have gotten there too late. It was awful. So this year we went to something hosted by the zoo within walking distance of the house. That was a lot of fun! This took place the weekend before Halloween. We spent the actual day with Tony's parents in Perry. That was a lot of fun.
My parents came and visited the weekend of Nov. 16 for James' dedication here in Tally. They definitely do things differently from FBC, where Alex and I were dedicated(as babies). It was great having them visit. I wish they would do so more often.
We are in the final streatch for the Tallahassee Christmas Pagent. The music is awesome!! Don't know what the story is about, but I gather it's amazing too(I missed the kick-off banquet where this info was disclosed). Five more rehearsals and 3 performances left. Then it's off to St. Augustine!!!! Thank you so much to Jason Pamblanco, Courtney Vinson, and many others for making this musical such a great success!!!!
Finally, on December 17, my momma is coming to get me and the boys for a much needed vacation to St. Augustine. Can you believe it's been more than a year since I last went to St. Augustine??? That's a long time for someone who went almost every month while I was still a child, and several times a year after that.

I'd love to give updates on the boys, but James is calling for his last meal of the night so I'll try to post later.

Amanda

Tony's finger, James' new things, and Alex's great love for his brother and helpfulness

It's been a while since I've posted.... Let's see if I can play catch-up.
Tony had a doctor's apoitnment today to determine what is wrong with his finger. A little back story... Tony woke up one morning after we brought James home, and his left index finger was swollen. We didn't think much of this. We simply thought that he had slept on it wrong. Put a bit of ice on it and left it alone. 11 weeks later, it still bothers him. It goes numb, tingles, etc. It also still swells. Today the doctor told him she believs it to be Carpal-tunnel syndrome. He has to go get x-rays done to rule out other problems. Then he will be able to see a specialist and begin treating it. Please pray that all goes well.

James grows more and more each day. Still haven't gotten a strict schedule down, but we are working on it. I haven't heard him laugh yet, but tonight he showed a face that looked like he would have been laughing. He loves his big brother, even if he sometimes thinks that Alex is a bit strange. James often smiles at Alex and tries to follow him with his eyes. He loves watching Alex.

Alex has become such a helper. He often comes and gets me if he doesn't think I'm answering James' cries fast enough. If he sees me sitting down to nurse and James doesn't have a blanket, Alex will look around the house until he finds one and brings it to me. Even if it's a burp cloth instead. He knows how to put the paci in James' mouth, but hasn't learned that he needs to let it go. Multiple times daily he hugs and kisses James. I love watching them interact. =D

Well, that's it for tonight. I could keep talking, but really need to get in bed.
I'll try to post tomorrow with the topic of cloth diapers and potty training.

James

Tonight I just want to talk about James...
I am in complete amazement at him. I can't believe he is 8 1/2 weeks old. He'll be 2 months old next Wednesday. He is starting to look more and more like a little boy instead of a baby. He talks to us daily. He also loves to watch and talk to Alex. Tonight, his daddy put him to bed instead of me. When I finished putting Alex to bed, I came out to find James in the crib in his bedroom instead of the bassinet in our room. He wasn't quite asleep yet either. I'm used to rocking him to sleep in my arms or having to lay down with him on our bed and then moving him to his bassinet. Tonight he is sound asleep in his crib without any help from mommie. =( Mommie doesn't like this since it means that my baby boy is growing up. WAY TOO FAST FOR MOMMIE!!!! Mommie is selfishly hoping to have a few more nights in the bassinet. Alex didn't move out of the bassinet until he was 4 months old...of course he didn't exactly have a choice like James does.
I gave them their first bath together tonight. Alex was soooo helpful!!!! =D He makes mommie so proud. During the bath he kept kissing James on the head. There is no sweeter sight to a mommie's eyes than her 2 year old son kissing his baby brother.
I guess that's it for now. I love how this was supposed to be a post about James, and Alex still managed to enter the conversation....

Good night world!!!

Busy, busy, busy.

Today has been the longest day I have had in a while. Had a doctor's appointment this morning, got the oil changed in my car, and then came home. That doesn't sound like much, but when you have two children in tow it is. Got home. Finally booked our hotel for Disney/Universal. Finally found out what I have to do to get a copy of James' birth certificate. I still have a house to clean, and probably wont get to it until Thursday...errrrgggg. I have an appointment in the morning that will probably last until 11 or so. Then I have to be at church tomorrow at 5:00pm or earlier to eat. I'm hoping to stay for choir tomorrow night. That means I wont get home until sometime after 8:30ish. Thursday will be back to a normal routine. Then I have another appointment on Friday. In-laws coming on Saturday. Whew what a week!!!!
On a happier note...
James will be 8 weeks old on Thursday, but wont be 2 months old until the following Wednesday. Odd, but that's what happens when our months don't have the same amount of days.
Alex grows more and more everyday. He has been sleeping in his big-boy bed for over a week now. I couldn't be more proud. We are working on the potty training thing... Difficult to do with all of the appointments. Hopefully, we can soon get into a routine that allows me to train him more regularly. He knows the alphabet, his numbers in three languages, colors, shapes, and he can sing better than most children his age. My mother is even baffled by his singing abilities.

Guess that's it for now... I need to think about getting James up to eat so that he doesn't get his days and nights confused.

Home

I have decided that I don't do well to be away from home for too long. I'm not only home sick for my husband, I'm also homesick for my house. I get to spend two days there Sunday and Monday, and I almost don't want to come back to Jacksonville. I'll have to. Until we own a van one day, it takes two cars to get two children and me back home with all of our stuff.
This post, though just started is going to have to wait. James is having a difficult time falling asleep. I'm going to go help. Hopefully this will end soon.

Yesterday and Today

Today has started out pretty normal. We got up around 9. I found out that Alex had soaked through his pjs again, and had to clean that up. Then we had breakfast(all three of us).

Today is Duane and Trevor's day to mow my parents' yard, and they showed up during breakfast. When Trevor was almost finished with the back yard, he chose to take Alex for a ride. I'm not sure what Alex thought about that, but he acted like he had fun. He smiled a couple of times.

My computer wont let me upload the video.=(

Tony has decided that we can't afford to have him come see us every weekend. =( He's missing out on so much of James' development, and I can tell that Alex is starting to miss him. This will be the longest that we have been apart since we got married. It will be 3 weeks before Alex gets to see Tony again. James and I will see him briefly when I go for my 6 week check up in Tally on the 24th, then we have to come back for one more week.

Well... this was supposed to post yesterday. My computer had other ideas. Since trying to post this yesterday, Alex has gotten sick, we've taken him to the doctor, and I've had to feed him a bland diet and pray he keeps it down. Thankfully he has kept his food down for now. He has taken a 4 hour nap, and is still sleeping. I'm slightly worried about James. I was told to keep them away from each other, and while I've been successful at keeping them from touching and breathing on each other, they have been in the same room a couple of times today. Now James is spitting up everything I give him except myself, but when I nurse he acts like he's still starving. He's had a good nap today, and he has enjoyed laying on his quilt today. He's getting so big!!! Today he grabbed my face and patted it a couple of times. =) He's doing better at holding his head up while on his tummy, and has learned to move his arms on his own when I roll him onto his tummy. I'm a proud momma. I love my boys so much!! Yesterday when Alex was his sickest, we gave him some Tylenol and Motrin. Within a few minutes he went from clinging to me to smiling at me when I tickled his face and telling me that he loves me. Motherhood has definately made me a weeper.
Well, I hear Alex calling me. Hopefully this will post this time...