A very, merry half birthday to you!

Yep, this little nut is officially two and a half today.  Goodness, time flies!

I decided a few weeks ago that I must organize my digital photos.  I am determined to be caught up with my photo printing, scrapbook page making, and photo books by the end of the summer.  This means that every spare minute I've spent organizing photos and this blog has been completely neglected. 

The good news is that I'm actually doing something and making some progress. 

The bad news is that the three weeks I've spent so far have only gotten me through most of 2009.  There's still a lot to get through AND I haven't even gotten to the folders that contain all the pictures with our new camera!  Some months have over 1000 pictures to sort through.  Sheesh, this is when I am almost certain that technology does not, in fact, make lives easier!

So today we're celebrating Sadie's two and a half years and rejoicing in the end of a school year. 

Bring on summer!

Home

Yesterday was a good day.

After a long day Wednesday and a long night Wednesday night, Sadie really turned a corner early yesterday morning.  We were able to rest for a little bit and keep her happier than she had been in a while.  They took her chest tube out just before lunch and we celebrated with some ice cream...

...and then a sponge bath.

They repeated her x-ray a few hours later and declared us good to go!  It felt a little surreal to walk out of the hospital and get in the car [which hadn't moved since we got there at 6 AM Monday morning] and high-tail it home.  My parents met us here with the other kids and we all went to bed [in our own beds] and slept!

We did our best to take it easy today.

Sadie is still a little unsteady on her feet, but she was happy for the most part to play and sit and let the other kids bring her things.

It feels a little bit like trying to eat an elephant when I reflect on the surgery.  It's such a huge thing.  Five days that just feel lost in the vacuum of my mind.  I'm not sure where to start or how to break it down, but I know it will take some time. 

Sadie plays, happily, with bandages and scars that remind me the last week was not a lie.

It's wonderful to see her little spunk come back, and Mrs. Potato Head is thankful to be diapered once again.  Her giggle is absolutely music to my ears.

We are so blessed and thankful to be back home and truly in AWE of what God has done!

Still here!

My parents came up to the hospital tonight.

I wish I could describe what it's like to have a little one at the hospital and other (healthy) little ones at home. My heart is so divided. The chaos of our daily routine continues but I am stuck in this quiet place of solitude, sort of. I stroke Sadie's hair and hold her hand and sing to her when she cries yet strangely long for sticky fingers, fights over toys and small hands grabbing at my legs when I walk past.

Tonight was therapy.

We sat at a small table in the cafeteria and ate with the kids while my parents entertained Sadie. Mae nursed and I cried as she gurgled and cooed and locked eyes with mine. The kids told us about the past few days and spontaneously got up to hug me over and over again. When they finally left, I smelled like spit up and dried the tears once more.

Full. I just feel so full.

I can't wait for Sadie to feel well enough to be home with everyone once again. Sadie has been in more pain today since the epidural is out and goes from sad and quiet to agitated. That said, we have had some sweet moments and some sly smiles from her that give me glimpses of my spunky little girl. There was some talk of moving us to a regular room but the nurse just told us we are staying in the PICU annex because of some staffing issues. This is really a blessing for us as it basically means we have nurse caring just for Sadie through the night.

The doctor said the drainage is looking really good at this point and they will plan to take the chest tube out tomorrow. The doctor typically comes by between 2 and 3, but we are praying he comes by earlier in the day so we can get that thing out. We know that will help Sadie get some pain relief. Additionally, they will have to monitor her and do an x-ray once it is out before we can start talking about when to go home.

If you think to pray, here are some specific requests:

1. The chest tube will come out as early in the day as possible.

2. There will not be any complications related to the tube coming out.

3. We will see some improvement in Sadie's pain levels and appetite so that we can get her off the heavy meds she is taking now and be sure we will be able to keep her comfortable at home.

4. That it may somehow be possible to take her home tomorrow...we are eager to be back at home and reunited as a family.

Thank you all so much for lifting us up and encouraging our family in so many ways!

Good Morning!

Greetings from the transitional ICU! They transferred us us around 9:30 last night to a new room because they had a lot of admissions from the emergency department. There were some issues with Sadie's blood pressure and pain management but once they got those under control we were able to move. We were able to settle in around 11 and we all slep pretty well until about 3:30 AM when they came to do her chest x-ray. She still seems to be hurting some and pretty sad when we aren't snuggling with her but she is a champ! I am hoping they will move us to a regular room before too long!