My Precious Girls

I found this video clip when I was looking through our old photos, and it just made me smile! My two precious daughters singing to their precious new baby sister. This was Abigail's first night home. I hope it brings a smile to your face as it does mine.

The Race is On...

Will it be ACH or Cincinnati? With any luck Cincinnati will be the winner! I'm sure you are wondering where I am going with this. I spoke with Dr. O'Connor this morning and after a little research and her expert opinion; she and I think that Abigail's recent flare up was caused from an internal reaction to zithromax. So, she wants us to wait until Thursday to see if Dr. Putnum can get Abigail into their clinic sooner. If he has not called by Thursday, and Abigail still isn't feeling well then we will schedule another scope for sometime next week...my best guess is Monday. With any luck and A LOT of prayer, we will hear something from Cincinnati. Really, I just want the timing to work out for Abigail's best interest. Even if that means waiting until August!
On a laid back note, Ross and I took the girls to Tulsa yesterday. We didn't do anything special, but it was a nice change of scenery. Especially from the stressful weekend we had. We went to Golf Galaxy first. The girls had a blast putting golf balls into the hole, with Daddy's help. Then we went to the mall. We walked around, looked at stores, and Ross bought two shirts that were normally $58 for $14. What a bargain! I do like a deal. Anyway, we let the girls play in the play area until I couldn't stand the chaos anymore. Afterwards we went to eat dinner at ZIO'S Italian Restaurant. YUMMY!!! Ross and I shared and it was the perfect amount of food for each of us. Plus, not only did it satisfy us, but it cut the calories in half and saved money in the process. Of coarse we needed to make up for the lost calories so we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. YUMMIER!!! The girls didn't want cheesecake, so Ross and I got ours to go and off to Cold Stone we went. The girls got their favorite...cotton candy ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. After that day, we are all fat and happy! :)
Hannah keeps asking me to color with her, so I better be a good mommy and color with my four year old while Abigail is still sleeping.

Isaiah 41:10

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

This has been a weekend that our family has definitely had to call upon our heavenly Father for strength. On Thursday, Abigail started refusing to drink her formula again. She only drank 9 of her minimally required 28oz. Friday and Saturday were about the same. These few ounces caused some dehydration; which in turn caused constipation. On Friday, we took Abigail to the church where four godly men prayed over her. After we left the church we called Children's expecting them to say come on down so we can start fluids through an IV. This was not the case. They wanted her to see her PCP to ensure there was no other reason for the immediate feeding refusal. Off to her PCP we went. Of coarse, clinically she appeared healthy. No ear infection, upper respiratory infection, fever, or sore throat. Dr. Anderson spoke with Dr. Putnum (GI in Cincinnati) and he said that he and the board would review Abigail's case to see if they could see her sooner than August 11. What a blessing that would be!! Anyway, for the rest of the weekend. After speaking with the GI on call at Children's, she felt that Abigail would be okay to wait and see how she was doing until Sunday. She also suggested giving her Miralax for the constipation. Sunday we went to church and Sunday school where several members and ministry staff prayed over Abigail, Ross and I. We left Sunday school early with the intention of calling ACH when we got home. However, on the way home Abbz fell asleep in the car, so we laid her down and when she got up; she not only had a bowel movement, but she drank 7oz.! She has had a total of 20oz. today! More than doubling the last several days! Praise JESUS!! All the thanks goes to HIM! So for the moment Abigail is doing well. We will prepare for tomorrow, and with God's help stay home for another day. Tuesday I will call and speak with Dr. O'Connor, her primary GI. Hopefully, she will have a plan of action, and maybe we will hear from Cincinnati.

It's A Boy!!!!

Congratulations, Mrs. Alissa! Alissa had a healthy baby boy today at 12:22 pm. He weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 inches long. I do not know his name yet, but I am sure it will be adorable. Alissa is Abigail's physical therapist. We just love her. She is so good with Abigail. Although we are very excited about the baby, we will miss her terribly as she will be out the next couple of months on maternity leave. Mandy, Alissa, and I will have to plan a play date while she is off. I don't know though...that may be a little too chaotic. Seven little girls and two boys, what do you think?!?
Mary Grace and I did A LOT of school work today. She is such a trooper and much smarter then I probably give her credit for. She did several pages in her work book, some spelling, math, and reading. I also gave her a mach first grade entrance exam that I found on the internet. She did very well, but there is still a couple of things I need to work harder on teaching her. Sight words are the big one. There are 107 high frequency words in the English language, and she only (quickly) recognizes about 30 of them. Now, I know that most kindergartners don't know them all, but hey it doesn't hurt to try!
Abigail has been sick, running fever off and on for two weeks now, but I think today she is finally feeling better. She still isn't quite up to "normal" but today's progress is a good start. I just hope she is well for therapy next week. Mr.Darrel and Mrs. Heidi may disown us if we miss anymore.
Ross and I are awaiting our stimulus check; it is supposed to be deposited tomorrow. If it is, and everyone is healthy, we are planning to take the girls to Silver Dollar City in Branson. The girls love SDC! We aren't going to be able to go on vacation since we are taking Abigail to Cincinnati, so we thought Silver Dollar City would run a close second in the eyes of our daughters.
Ross is having to work late tonight, which in turn makes a late night for me. I can't imagine how Mandy does it day in and day out. I know she must be exhausted and counting down the months to when Drew is back home. I think I have successfully rambled enough for today, so until next time...have a great evening with your families!

THANK YOU, MANDY!!!

I have to say a BIG thank you to Mandy! She watched Mary Grace and Hannah for Ross and I while we went and looked at a few houses in Siloam. When we picked the girls up Hannah was going 90 to nothin' in every direction. Now, she is my child that hits the floor running from the moment she wakes up, but she was really wound up. I don't know if it was from the excitement of getting to play with Alex and Emma or if it was the new puppy. I think it was most likely the later. That is all she talked about; the little puppy this and the big puppy that, giggling like I have never heard. What was in those hot dogs?? ;) Han was so wound up we ended up putting the girls to bed 30 minutes early just to get them both to calm down. She must have been exhausted because they never talked or got out of bed; not even once! Any of you that know Hannah, know that's a miracle in and of itself. That child just doesn't require much sleep. Just last week it was 10:45pm and Ross said, "Is that Hannah still awake?" Sure enough it was!

Now...I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining or being negative describing my four year old; I'm not. Hannah is my strong-willed child with a beautiful personality. Although she is stubborn, she is equally compassionate. She is emotional in every aspect of the word, but that is why she has such compassion for others and animals as well. I call her my little sunshine because the moment she walks into a room, she lights it up. She is so expressive that she has has a way of even smiling through her eyes. Here is a pic. of my Hannah!

Is it clean? Or...is it a Mess?

There is a fine line between cleaning and making a mess. Ross and I have been cleaning things out of our house; throwing away a few things and boxing up others for a garage sale. I have decided that when you clean this way, your house looks much worse before it gets better. However, it will be well worth it when we have more space. I love a clean, clutter-free home! Ross is eager to tackle the attic that I am very much dreading. We have stuff up there that hasn't been touched since the day we moved in...five years ago. Hopefully we will be clutter-free and better organized by next week.

Ethiopia at Heart

Zach and Erin received their referral for the sixth member of their family today. They are adopting a little baby boy from Ethiopia, Africa. Wednesday marks 14 weeks of waiting, and they received their referral today! I am so happy for them. Their baby is absolutely beautiful. It is amazing how marvelous our God is! He instills in each of us the power of love, that reaches far beyond our family, friends, Continent, and oceans. I count myself blessed to embark on this journey with them, and to call them my friends. CONGRATULATIONS Zach, Erin, Easton, Catherine, and Sophia!! I can't wait to meet your new baby boy/brother!
As you know, Abigail isn't healthy. Ross and I have been struggling for quite some time with knowing if we should have anymore biological children. God has laid it upon our hearts to adopt from China, but we were planning on doing this after our fourth child. A perfect example that our plans aren't always the Lords plans. After seeing Zach and Erin's baby, and the unknown of the seriousness of Abigail's disease; I have a peace about waiting for a daughter from China. The Lord has placed before me a couple of circumstances this week that have pointed me in that direction, but that little boy's beautiful face may have been the little "nudge" that I needed. I long for the day that I can hold my (as my girls would say) "China baby" in my arms and call her mine.

House Fever!!!

I am in "lust" with a beautiful 5 bedroom, 4 bath home in Siloam!! It is an AMAZING deal in a nice neighborhood, BUT....still out of our price range; for now any way. There is also an option to buy the lot next to it for a great price. O, to have the money to buy "the house", but I will be happy finding a bigger, nicer home for less money, and search for the perfect house in a few years. I had to take Mandy, Alex, Emma, and my girls to see it. Of coarse, the girls just got to see it from their car seats in the car, but Mandy and I got to google-eye it for a while! It was fun sippin' on Sonic drinks, just riding around town...hopefully, the Harris and Green family will become even closer for many years to come. ☻ On another note, Ross and I have been cleaning house. We are taking out anything that we do not have to have; so that when we do decide to sell, we won't have as much to pack up and our house will appear larger. Every little bit helps! We have cleaned out Abigail's room and the Girls' room...boy, that took a while, but now they have room to play. I hope these things (junk) sell, sell, sell when we have a garage sale. That about sums up the "house fever" I am having. I hope the rest of you reading this are having as good of a day as I am.
Oh Yea, I almost forgot to tell the awesome news.........I started Weight Watchers 11 days ago and I have lost 7 pounds!!! Yeah me! Ross has lost 5 pounds! Yeah Ross!!!! Our goal: To be skinny, and healthier by the time we take Abigail to Cincinnati.