Added Link

For all of you NICU lovers!!!(Obviously just kidding!) Who loves the NICU? Of course we are all proud it exist! Anyway I have added a link that is titled Neonate Doc. He is a Neonatal Doc who is blogging about things happening in the NICU and life. Pretty interesting. I was just reading on his blogs finding some interesting topics.

SHE IS HOME

Emalee Grace got to come home yesterday. She is so precious and a great BABY!! She weighed in yesterday at 6pounds 8 ounces so she is doing wonderful. She is taking her feedings well and loves her paci... She has had no less than 1000 pictures since coming out into this crazy world and she is loved by so many...

You know why I think she is the best~ Because you can love all over her and when she gets tired of you you can hand her back.....

Just kidding you know holding a new baby will give you baby fever especially one as good as Emalee until life hits you so .....for all of you who are being hit by baby fever when holding a new born remember wait a few days THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!!!( I love this saying!)

Yesterday was uncle Chris first time to see her since the night she was born and it was both of our first time to hold her. She is so sweet! She looks just like her mom and dad

(I wonder how that happened!)

I am going to go see her today if they are not sleeping and hold her some more!!! I plan to get some new pictures of her so I will post them when I get them!!!

I wanted to leave this story to all of you moms...

The Invisible Woman...

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response,the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you seeI'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone,or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.I'm invisible.Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm aClock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind th at graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanutbutter, never to be seen again. She's going . she's going . she's gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabuloustrip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. Iwas sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would Discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beamthatwill be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not adisease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to

sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

COOL BOYS

Mrs. Sarah says that Luke and Brodie win the T-SHIRT competition! (We are pretty handsome boys with an attitude of course)!

NEW YORK CITY

Me and my mom went to NEW YORK CITY!!! We had a blast. We couldn't have asked for better weather and got to see lots of sights and eat lots of great food!

I will write more about the trip later.

Sick Little Boy

WELL~Thursday morning Brodie did not want to wake up and while I was trying to wake him felt his back and he was burning up, took his temp and of course 102.5 under the arm, gave tylenol, of course he throws it up~ waited a few minutes try it again and throws it up!!! Called Mrs. JoAnn and she said Come on in got there and they sent us to hospital for head scans, of course~they couldn't tell in Laurel because they didn't have anything to compare to so of course~ sent us to Jackson to neurosurgeon. WHAT A DAY!!! They don't think it is shunt related but they do think he is very much dehydrated and that it is viral! GREAT!!!

Friday went back to Dr. Tibbs. CBC great got a urine sample and it showed he was very dehydrated with nausea. SOooooo.... IT IS VIRAL~WAIT~! He continued to have a fever until Monday Morning.

I did go on to New York on Saturday morning as scheduled and Chris took great care of Brodie and they did just fine!!!!

BIRTHDAY BOY

Brodie's Birthday Party was on Saturday at our house and we had a blast! I have posted a video for you to see his party. He also had a party at School on Monday and the kids really had a good time playing with their hats and hammers. Anyway My Baby is 4!!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SPARE TIME

This is what we do in our spare time!

I was washing dishes and lost Brodie the other night and I find him in the bathroom with the brush cleaning the toilet but after he has rolled off all the toilet paper onto the floor!!!

PRICELESS

ALL SMILES

Not sure really what we are doing except just being happy!!!

Playing Outside`

Fun on Saturday's~

Playing outside having a great time!

Most kids are running out the door at 8:00 on Saturday mornings to play out in the sunshine but usually Brodie is cooped up with his parents while they do chores because we didn't get them done during the week and FINALLY they said let's go play!!!

We went outside and played ALL day! Brodie had the best time walking on his walker, riding the Bad Boy Buggy, playing in the dirt and biting LuLu!

MY NEW COUSIN

SHE IS A GIRL!!! EMALEE GRACE MOSS
October 13, 2007 4:30am
6 pounds and 4 ounces


She is beatiful!!! She started thinking about wanting to come out and play on Friday morning early but then she decided maybe she would just stay in a while and finally at 4:30 on Saturday morning she decided what the heck I think I want to see my mama and daddy!

I am a great cousin because I tuffed it out all night waiting on her. Although, I did have to have a power nap I finally closed my eyes at 1 am and at 4:15 I heard she was about to be here and I was bright eyed and bushy tailed to see my new cousin!



LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!!!

PROGRESS and VENTING

Brodie has just come so far in the last couple of months! We are still not where we want to be but we are all working so hard. Brodie is still going to therapy 4 days a week. We try to leave one day open for doctor visits. He is going to school 3 days in the morning, seeing TJ 2x a week, aquatics one afternoon, and hippo one afternoon. SOooooo.... Need I say more about time! We have none!

His speech has just progressed so much in the last couple of weeks. Saying anything you say and lots more.Nana tells my mom she is about to be in trouble because someone is about to start repeating everything she says....

His physical is getting so much stronger. We are still not seeing much progress with the way his foot is without braces. Braces have been cut down and he is doing much better in the last couple of weeks coping without the taller brace.

Went to neurologist a couple weeks ago and of course not so excited that we went through with rhizotomy but OH WELL! WHO CARES!!! Maybe when some of these doctors start caring about what is going on or maybe if they had a child that was hurting all the time, or knocked out on baclofen all the time, or maybe if they had to take their child to therapy 4 days a week instead of playing in the playland of McDonald's like everybody else then maybe they might go out on a limb for their child too!!!

Went to the opthamologist a week or so ago and guess what? SURGERY!!! That was what was recommended. Basically the surgery will be pretty much like last time except it will be the muscle under the eye to help with the vertical alignment vs. the side of the eye with the strabismus! Not sure when this will take place~ Just could not make a decision right there on the spot. Was not really expecting it and BOOM. I just know I need to think and pray! I want to do the best thing for him and to help him but another surgery....

WHEN DOES HE EVER GET A BREAK!!!

GO GO GO

I am always on the GO! I can't sit at my house longer than an hour or so or I am stir craZy! Dad cleaned out his truck one afternoon and put his car seat in the house and I thought we needed to go. I would go and sit in it and try to give my parents a hint but they sometimes just do not get it!

AWANA BEES

I have been going to Awana Bees! Mrs. Michelle, Rustin, and Katye invited me to their church to be a part of Awana's. I have done so well. I learned my first Bible verse. "God made the heavens and the earth" I say it like this~ "Ga Ma hea hea er" It is the greatest thing to my parents. They were so proud of me!! This is one night after I went down a BIG slide all by myself my dad almost PASSED OUT!

HIPPOTHERAPY

I LOVE HORSES!!! The helmet not so much but love the horses! Mrs. Rachelle has been doing some vaulting with me. I stand on the horse and tall kneel on the horse. My new horses name is Misty!

BALLGAMES

That time a year again~ BALLGAMES! Graham had a soccer game and Bailey went with me and Mom! Well we were geared up ready to see a game and the other team did not show up! BOO HOO! We had fun eating popcorn anyway!

PLAYGROUND

Mrs. Judy sure knows how to treat a boy! Take him to the PLAYGROUND!!!

I love to be outside and the new playground at school is so cool!

UNITED WAY KICKOFF

United Way kicked off their campaign in September and Mrs. Sarah was asked to speak on behalf of the Children's Center! I went with her and of course showed out. I actually did so good on my walker today. I walked from the parking lot inside Target, to the pharmacy, took a rest and then walked all during the meeting and walked all the way to the car! There was a nice lady that worked in Target and heard from a special someone that I liked popcorn so guess what? I got some popcorn. I took it to school with me to share with all my friends.

By the way thanks to all of you who are contributors of the United Way! In case you did not know where your money was going NOW YOU KNOW to help boys and girls like me to learn how to do things just like everyone else! Thanks to all of you!!!

This is my Classroom! I really love it!!!Sometimes I have to get to school before my friends to see Mrs. Judy and I like to go in and try to get in my chair but Mrs. Judy will not stand for it!

UPDATING

I know I have not been updating as much but there is a great reason WHY!!! All of our pictures now have to be converted to a smaller size with a different program, resaved, and then added! Also with adding pictures I can only add one at a time so this causes for needing lots of time! Which I do not have but I love being able to but new things on the blog so just bare with us!