A Blog Book?

Really? Did you know that you can print your blog in book form? I know it may be cheesy of me to say this, but I think that is great. All of those memories and pictures captured in a book. What a wonderful thing for a parent to have. Some of us would grab hold of that book and cherish those memories forever while others of us can pass them down to our children. I'm thinking at some point I am going to have to do it. Get a blog book. Am I the only nerd in the bunch or do others of you think that is a wonderful thing? Ok, maybe I don't need you to answer...I already know I'm a nerd, I don't need you all to confirm it. Ha! :) Oh, and if you don't believe me, just google it. The response is overwhelming. Have a GREAT day!

Hippie Lady

Yes, I am sure that I am soon to be called, "The Hippie Lady," or hey that's my "Hippie Friend", but that's okay with me! We are picking up our grass-fed beef this afternoon from Greener Pastures Farms, and I can't wait until Ross can eat it! We have also started buying organic produce from Old Soul Organics ; which is a home delivery service for the Northwest Arkansas area. We go one step further by buying fresh, unpasteurized unhomogenized milk from Rusk Farms just past the Arkansas/Oklahoma border. Being that we are small business owners, I'm all about supporting local business owners; and with our special food needs those small business tend to work out the best for us.

I am in the process of transitioning our family's diet from conventional foods to organic foods; or all natural at the least. We are eating very little foods from a box anymore. No more heavily processed foods, no additives, no artificial colorings or flavorings, no more high fructose corn syrup...people, we are going back to the basics. With the exception of Smarties of coarse!! :) My new philosophy is if they didn't eat it 100 years ago, we probably shouldn't be eating it today. Why are we doing this? First and foremost, because we have been told that EE patients tend to have a better chance of passing a food trial with food that has not been sprayed repeatedly with pesticides and herbicides or processed so much that there is virtually no nutritional value left. Secondly, plain and simple. It has to be better for us. Lastly, I am actually saving money. That's right. Saving money. I'm not buying junk food or many prepacked items anymore; which has helped my budget tremendously. Now, I'm certainly NOT saying we don't indulge once in a while. If we want ice cream, we get ice cream. And chocolate....is a must! Of coarse there will still be those days we swing by a fast food restaurant for a quick meal, but they are becoming fewer and farther between. I see more "hippie moments" for me in the future...butter, yogurt and heavy whipping cream from my fresh milk, homemade organic breads...the possibilities are endless!

Recycling. Yep. We are doing that too. Now, I decided we should do our part and we are starting out very small and simple. I have 4 recycling bins labeled, "Cans, Plastic, Paper, and Cardboard." I figure doing our part should be fairly easy since Abigail and Ross both have a tone of cans that their formula comes in and just as many cardboard boxes that hold those formula cans. Plastic was a no brainer for us too because we go through bottled water like crazy...again for making formula. Paper is pretty much filled with the girls school work and doodle sheets from them coloring at home. There you have it.

Now for those of you who can't or don't want to go organic or green, that is perfectly fine with me. We still love you! This is just what is working best for our family at the moment.

I Wonder...

Each new day that I look into the face of my precious baby boy, I wonder. Does the newness and uncertainty ever wear off? Will I ever feel confident in raising a son? I wonder, will he become the man of God I pray he will be? Will I be able to teach him to be that man of God? I wonder why God has chosen now to bless and entrust me with raising a son. If I have all of these questions and insecurities, I wonder what Mary must have wondered. I wonder if she questioned, "Why me? Who am I to carry such a sacred blessing?" I wonder how she felt knowing what her baby boy would endure. I wonder if she was scared.

The only thing I am counting on is that in each new day that the Lord brings, He will also bring insight into how I should raise my precious son. He will equip me with the tools I need at each milestone and season of life that comes our way. I trust that He will instill the confidence that I need in raising a son; as I have my in raising daughters. I am thankful that I did not have to enter into parenthood alone; because the Father has always been there to help me. In all of my fears and failures, He is there. And in my security and confidence, He is there. Am I the only mom with these questions, fears, and concerns that also cries out to the Lord for help and assurance with parenting? I wonder?

Hospitalized With RSV

You know it isn't a good sign when your child falls asleep during a breathing treatment at 5:00 in the afternoon. That is exactly what happened Friday evening, January 29th, when Abigail was getting what I thought to be a "normal" breathing treatment. After realizing that she had fallen asleep, I checked her forehead and sure enough she had fever. No biggie, we had had a few late nights so I thought she was just overly tired. I let her rest for a little while, got her up, did our nightly routine, and put all the kids to bed. She woke up early Saturday morning and crawled into bed with Ross and I and fell back asleep. This is where she stayed all day. In our bed. When I say all day, I literally mean all day long. I had to carry her to the bathroom to go potty; with her crying the whole time. She slept for hours at a time, and just when it would get to the point where I felt like we needed to take her somewhere she would wake up for a little while. She was only awake for about 20 minutes at a time, but at least we knew she was still responsive. Now you have to remember that because of all of the snow, all of the doctor's offices were closed; which meant if we did take her somewhere it would have to be the ER. Up until this point Abigail has never really been sick. Sick with EE, yes. Sick with a cold, yes, but really sick with an illness? No. I had listened to her lungs and they sounded clear and her temp wasn't terribly high; so we called it a night and all went to bed. Then Sunday arrived. Same thing. Won't get out of bed, won't drink her formula, won't talk, and temp is hanging out right around 103. The only good thing we had going at this point is that she had been drinking water so we knew she wasn't getting dehydrated. After giving her a bath, I noticed that her hands and feet were kind of gray in color. Thinking they were just cold, I tried warming them up. Then I had Ross try. While he was trying, I decided I needed to listen to her lungs. That is when I knew we needed to take her to the emergency room. At this point she wasn't wheezing, but she had significant crackles (indicative of pneumonia) in the bottom right lobe, and her lungs had been perfectly clear the day before. By the time we could get to the ER she was retracting at the trachea, indicating that her breathing was becoming more labored. Her pulse ox was 87 and dropping rapidly, even after a Xopenex updraft. She had two more breathing treatments and was placed on oxygen. After each of the breathing treatments, her pulse ox continually dropped, and she was admitted for RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and viral pneumonia. She was on continual oxygen for five days straight. Just when they thought they could wean her down, they would have to up it again. Let me just say that it is very frustrating to see your child get weaned down to 1/4 of a liter of oxygen just to turn around a few hours later and see her back up to 2 1/2 liters. The oxygen levels continued going up and down until Friday morning when she woke up and was suddenly much better. After several hours off of the oxygen (including a nap without it) we were finally able to go home. We sure were glad to get home and finally be able to sleep in our own beds! Of coarse during this hospital stay, the other 3 kids ended up sick. We think Hannah must have been the original RSV culprit because she had what we thought to be "just a cold" the week before. So, she ended up with a secondary ear infection. Mary Grace and Jonathan both came down with RSV a couple of days after Abbz was in the hospital. Ross had the two sick big girls at home, and I had both sick babies with me in the hospital. At one point Ross asked me if they had family rooms at the hospital. :) Luckily, none of the other kiddos got it as badly as Abigail! Needless to say, if any of your kids get RSV, brace yourself and prepare for your entire family to end up with it. It's apparently highly contagious because we have never had all of the kids sick at one time before.

One Month Appointment

Jonathan is a growin' boy! He now weighs 9 pounds 7 ounces and is 22 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and 100th for height. Taking after his two biggest sisters he is! Other than having a slight umbilical hernia that will correct on it's own, he is just perfect.

Photo by Amanda Dietz Scott

Jonathan Ross Green

Introducing Jonathan Ross Green. Born at 9:42 pm on December 10, 2009. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 1/2 in. long. As you can see from the first picture, he was a bit blue after birth and needed a little help. He stayed in the NICU for a brief time for observation and it was determined that he just didn't have time to squeeze all of the amniotic fluid from his lungs because he came down so quickly.

So I had to have a picture of all the "stuff" on him. It's actually sad when it feels normal to see your child with an IV. I told Ross that it just seemed to fit. If you have a child in the hospital, it's only fitting that there be an IV; right? Now, I know this is not normal especially for a newborn. I did tell him that he didn't have to try so hard to prove he was part of the family; we will keep him...healthy and all! ;) Abbz was really sweet. She kept touching the IV, saying I have one of those. I think it was a bonding experience for the two of them.


The Green kids! My sweet girls and little guy. Somehow they all look different, yet they all favor. As Mandy would say, they are definitely Green Babies!

Look what Santa left us under the tree. The best little Christmas present ever! Eight pounds of pure joy!!

Update and Birthday Wish!

Here I am, and yes I am still alive. Quite frankly, I just have not felt like even getting on the computer much less blogging. The baby and I are doing okay. He is still growing well, and I am too! ;) I had some significant swelling at my appointment yesterday, but my blood pressure is still holding steady so for now everything is still good. Dr. P is out all week so I am praying that this week proves to be a good one. The swelling is still pretty bad which is usually an indicator that my blood pressure is either on the rise or going to be. We are hoping to get me to 36 weeks, he would be happier with 37 weeks, and if I have not delivered by 38 weeks, he will for sure induce me then. So before Christmas we should have a happy, healthy baby boy in our arms at home. The best Christmas present ever!! Oh, I guess you probably would like to know how far along I am right now...35 weeks tomorrow. On another note, I have officially reached that point in my pregnancy when I can no longer sleep. Going to sleep usually isn't the problem, staying asleep, now that is a different story. If something wakes me, I am pretty much up for the night. I have been awake since 3:30 this morning, and don't foresee me going to sleep until bedtime tonight. Oh well. I guess God is preparing me for when Jonathan arrives. I have joked in the past that I have to have a baby to get any rest, and this time I am definitely thinking that may be the case. Oh.......I just realized what today is.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABIGAIL!!!!!!!!!!!
Today is Abigail's 3rd Birthday! I really cannot believe it. She is getting so big, and her personality is really beginning to shine through. She has come a long way over the past two years health-wise, physically, and developmentally and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her. Daddy, Mommy, and the Girls love you very much and hope today is a very special day for you! What was it you wanted?...a white kitty cat (stuffed animal) with green eyes? I guess we will have to see if your birthday wish comes true!