A Thanksgiving Challenge

~Daddy got me a pumpkin just my size!!~

I love fall.  The smell of crisp air, the sight of beautifully colored bushes and trees, the sound of crunching leaves beneath my feet, the feeling of cozy sweaters, and the taste of freshly baked pumpkin bread are many of the nostalgic items that awaken all the senses and signify fall to me.  But it is also so much more than that; and while we should have an attitude of thankfulness all year round {especially as believers}, it seems that this is the time of year when the entire world around us endeavors~in some way~to demonstrate a thankful spirit, even if only for a short time.  Thanksgiving is the time of year in which my family comes together from across the states, so it makes it even easier to celebrate that spirit as I am surrounded by the ones who know me best and still love me the most.  But this season is different.  The impact of this past year has made the attitude of a thankful heart sink deeply into my soul; and more than ever, my eyes have been opened to the incredible blessings which Christ has lavished upon me.  Still, being thankful is an action which requires thought and effort; it does not happen to us passively.  Thus, I am issuing a challenge to myself and decided to include anyone else who is also willing to participate.  For the next 30 days, I will be doing my best to post something for which I am thankful, each and every day {if I happen to miss a day, as can happen with Noelle's schedule, then I will make it up on the next day}.  However, as I thought through this, I wanted it to be deeper and much more significant than 30 various things, so I have narrowed the focus.  It is much more challenging and thought-provoking to dwell on one subject and examine it from all facets to determine how it is affecting your life.  So the challenge is as follows:

1.  Choose a theme (this can be a person, place, thing, etc...).  For example, you might choose your job or your family (or get even more specific and choose only one member of your family).  Be thoughtful and creative as you will be dwelling on this and thanking God for it each day.

***On this note, if you are currently struggling through a circumstance or an issue, then I would encourage you to make that your theme for the month.  Nothing changes your perspective or your attitude quite like finding aspects of your trial for which to be thankful.***

2.  Each day in November, think through some of aspect of this theme for which you are thankful, and write it out.

3.  Post it.  Post it on your fridge or your facebook wall or wherever you will see it consistently.  If you have a blog, then write a blog post each day and share it with others.

4.  Share it with us.  Whether you choose to leave a comment each day on this blog or you post a comment on the Grace Outpoured Facebook Page, others are encouraged when they read through your experiences of learning to be thankful, so if you are willing to share it with us as well, then we would love to hear from you!

In keeping with the current subject of this blog and the theme of our lives for the past year, my topic will be Noelle; and I look forward to what God reveals in my heart through this next month as He continues to teach me to give thanks in everything.

Will you take up the challenge?  If so, what is your theme?

Stopping to Snuggle

This is the first week that I truly feel as if we are on lock down.  The past few weeks have still been full with a couple of doctor appointments, the sleep study, and Tom having his wisdom teeth removed {which, if I were a "mean" wife, would have been plastered all over the internet in video form...suffice it to say that Tom under anesthesia is quite entertaining!}.  My mom also started her new jobs, so we have all been adjusting to the various schedules that occur around here.  I have long been looking forward to this week and hoping to get much accomplished around the house.  Still, many of the things I plan to do never seem to get done during the day, or they happen on a day which I did not expect.  I am really on no one's schedule but my own {well, Noelle's, that is}, but some days it seems to be a great accomplishment just to grab a shower or make dinner.  I know this is normal for moms, and I truly love falling into that category now; but some days I find myself putting Noelle in her swing or her bumbo seat or in her cradle for a nap, just so I can get something done.  There is nothing wrong with that; in fact, she needs times like these to learn to play by herself or fall asleep on her own {which she does quite well, thanks to the NICU}.  But today, it was time to stop.  Time to stop and just be with her.  It happened in the form of grabbing the camera and talking and playing with her as I tried to capture some images; it also meant holding and snuggling her as she fell asleep for her morning nap.  These are moments and days I will never get back, and I want to capture them before they are gone.  Because stopping to create these memories will someday be one of the sweetest treasures I hold.

{P.S. We will keep reminding about the book project through November 15th.  We are so thankful for the entries we have received but would love to hear from more of you, if you are able to contribute.  We really appreciate the time and love so many have you have spent on this project!  Keep them coming!!}

~Captured Moments from Today~ 

We tried on a special outfit from Aunt Sara...

Then we pulled out the headband from Grandpa & Grandma Aguiar and caught a few more...

And the Miracles Continue...

~Tired Girl after the Sleep Study Night~

Many of you remembered and were praying fervently for Noelle's sleep study last week.  Personally, I thought it had gone well, based upon the monitor reading through the night {I took our own monitor this time so that I would have some indicator of her saturation levels through the night}.  However, I had thought the previous sleep study had gone well until the results came back; so I was cautiously optimistic this time around.  During the weeks in between the two studies, we had been very aggressive about addressing Noelle's reflux issues {through medication, sleep positions, holding her upright for long periods of time after feedings, etc...}, but she had a terrible flare up the week before this study which made me somewhat nervous.  We adjusted her medication again, and that had seemed to help; but we still did not know how this would affect the study this time around.  She actually did not sleep very well that night and woke up crying a few times {I think she was just extremely uncomfortable with everything that was attached to her}, so I really had no idea what to expect as far as the results were concerned.  We were tired girls the next day, but I was grateful to be past the whole experience since she gets pretty upset by the time they are done gluing and taping everything to her.  Then came the waiting.  "Waiting" seems to be one of our hallmark lessons of this past year {more on that in a later post}; and while we certainly have not mastered this trait, we have learned that it does not help our situation to worry through the waiting process.  I secretly hoped to have the results the next day {as we did last time}; but when we did not, I took comfort in God's perfect timing and wondered if maybe the longer waiting period meant that the situation was not as urgent this time.  The sleep study was on Wednesday night, and by Friday night we had still not heard anything and would have to wait through the weekend.  We enjoyed some wonderful, rare family time together, and Noelle even laughed several times, making me earnestly hope that we would not be losing that wonderful sound to a tracheotomy.  Most of today passed {the business hours, anyway} with still no word; but then suddenly the phone rang, the caller ID reflecting "Wake Forest."  My heart skipped a few beats as I picked it up, and the conversation that followed went like this:

Me: "Hello?"
Pulmonologist: "This is Dr. ____.  Is this a good time to talk?"
Me: "Yes, it is.
Pulmonologist: Well, her sleep study results are normal.
Me: W-w-what? 
Pulmonologist: They are basically normal!!  The normal overall grade is "1" or less, and she was at "0.5."
Me: Really?!!!
Pulmonologist: Yes!!  I say "basically" because she had one desaturation episode associated with an apnic episode in which she dropped her levels to 85, but it was only one time.
Me: That is great!!
Pulmonologist: Yes it is!!  She went from severe, severe, severe, SEVERE sleep apnea to completely normal, and I am so pleased!!  It shows you how bad reflux can truly be...

We discussed a few more things before ending the conversation, but I was in some shock.  We had hoped and prayed for some improvement; and God demonstrated how small our faith is {once again} and how big He is by completely eliminating the improvement clause and jumping right to normal range.  Noelle went from an average of forty episodes per hour to only one through the entire night.  Our hearts are filled with awe of our great God and extreme thankfulness that we are not scheduling her for a tracheotomy procedure.  Would He be less great if things had turned out differently?  Absolutely not.  We would have walked the tracheotomy path if that is what was best for Noelle in the larger scheme of things; but as her parents, we are so grateful that God intervened, and she is not going through such a traumatic event.  Now, we are ready to truly settle into this lock down period and attempt to stay as healthy as possible through these winter months, hopefully avoiding any setbacks or hospital stays.  We cannot thank you enough for your many prayers for this sleep study issue and your continued prayers for Noelle's health.  We are incredibly grateful from the very bottom of our hearts.

Noelle's Latest Trick

Noelle has taken up "silent talking" and is consequently generating much laughter in this household.  Aunt Barbie caught her on camera last week during her visit, so we thought we would share this little video to hopefully brighten your Monday afternoon.  We appreciate your continued prayers as we have the sleep study on Wednesday night and hope to have final results by early next week.  Also, do not forget The Book project as we moved up the entry deadline to allow compilation time before her birthday arrives.  Thank you to those who have begun to contribute and to you who are still planning to write ~ we truly appreciate it!!  Have a wonderful Monday and a great week!!

Ten Months Old

~Ten Months Old~

I just cannot believe that our baby girl is ten months old today ~ it hardly seems possible!!  The changes continue to amaze us, and we are soaking up every wonderful minute with our little blessing.  Our first week of lock down was a delightful change of pace with no doctor appointments (the first week with no appointments since early June!); and we kicked off this period with a special visit from Noelle's Auntie Kari and Auntie Barbie.  Noelle absolutely loved the company and all the extra attention and snuggles, and I enjoyed the sweet fellowship during the few short days they were here.  Unfortunately, Noelle's reflux flared pretty badly again this past weekend, so we moved up one of her doctor appointments by a couple of days to today.  Her medication has been weight adjusted thus far, so this flare up was evidence that she had outgrown her dose and was in need of a new calculation.  Thankfully, her pediatrician was able to put her on the maximum dose possible (now that she is big enough); and we are all hopeful that this new dose will improve the situation so that we may get more positive results on the sleep study next week.  The added benefit to today's appointment was that we were able to see how much weight she has gained, and she weighed 9lbs. 15oz.  That is the closest she has ever come to averaging 1 lb. / month, and I was excited to see her progress.  The rest of this post will be in pictures, but I am hoping to post more regularly again once we have a chance to get past our appointments this week and really settle into our routine of being at home all the time.  These coming months are going to be quite fun as this little girl makes us laugh in new ways every day; and we continue to thank God for your many prayers as we take one day at a time, seeking to wade through this time period in the healthiest way possible.

 Ten Month Activities

~Sitting up with a little boppy help!~

~A New Friend...~

~Helping Daddy Read~

~A little someone figured out that there are bows on her helmet...~

~Meeting Auntie Kari for the first time~

~Playing with Mommy's chin~

~Saying "See You Soon" to Auntie Kari...~

~....and to Aunt Barbie too~

Lock Down Commences

~I finally graduated to a "big girl" towel!!~

We officially began lock down today, although we actually began limiting our outings a week ago to those only absolutely necessary.  While we have been careful since we last discharged from the hospital, we have been allowed certain activities such as church attendance, grocery shopping (during week days at non-busy times), and similar things that did not involve large crowds.  With the arrival of October and the cooler weather, Noelle is now allowed to go to doctor appointments only, and we must keep her home the rest of the time for the next six months.  When they first explained this to me a few months ago, I was certainly willing to do it; but I was also dreading it a bit.  Six months seemed like a very long time, especially since I had been keeping her home ever since we discharged from the NICU; and I knew that even once the six months was completed, we would have to slowly begin introducing public activities again and could not just immediately resume a "normal" life.  However, as this time approached, I began to look forward to it and am actually thankful that it has arrived.  It will bring a certain amount of logistical challenges; but while I know that her health is ultimately in God's sovereign hands, it just feels more safe to be confined to home during this season when so many people become sick.  We are very hopeful that if she can do well (without setbacks) through this season, then next summer will be a different story altogether.  We have not forgotten that we still need to complete the sleep study and demonstrate improvement; but after talking with more members of her medical team and finding out further details of this past sleep study, we truly believe that she will not be receiving the tracheotomy that the ENT specialist thought she needed.  Improvement in her oxygen saturation levels has also continued in the past several weeks, and I am very thankful for my mom who has now moved here and is a tremendous help and blessing as we seek to do everything physically possible to aid Noelle's reflux issues (and consequently affect the upcoming sleep study results).  The nerves will still come as we approach that moment, but we continue to find great comfort in the fact that God has already planned our coming days.  As we close September and begin this new season, we had many blessings this past month of which I will share a few.  Thank you for your many continued prayers for our sweet miracle baby!!

~I just rolled over again!!~

September Blessings

~ Noelle began to roll over

~ We packed up nearly all the newborn clothes and began the transition to 3 month clothes

~ We have heard a couple of giggles now, and a full laugh is just under the surface

~ Noelle graduated from speech therapy 

~My mom (Noelle's snuggle buddy) now lives here

~Aunt Julie, Gigi, and G-Pa all came to visit

....and my very favorite:

~We reached the point of being at home for as many days as we have spent in the hospital this year!!!