In Oklahoma

We are in OK and enjoying everything so far. Jamen has made new friends and is once again enjoying having new toys to play with. At this age as long as there is food, a place to sleep and toys Jamen is a happy boy!

Jamen playing playdough with his new friends. There is another couple with two boys, the boys are 4.5 and 3, Jamen enjoys having older kids to play with.

Jade trying sweet potatoes for the first time...well, solids in general...can't say she is very thrilled about the idea.

She gaged and threw up the first two days, now she just won't open her mouth...poor thing...we'll just take it slow

Jade was practicing her kissing on Ezra, another baby with us who is 5 months old. Below is a video our "new house" as Jamen likes to call it.

Ten Days Later

Here is Jade ten days after surgery! We went to the doctor on Thursday where he took of the steri strips, thats what all the redness is from. She has such sensitive skin when it comes to band-aids and such. The redness should go down in a few more days. Meanwhile its been really nice to let her sleep how she wants, give her a real bath and let her play without worrying as much. They did a great job with removing her birthmarks and as long as we do our part in taking good care of her scars, they are hardly going to be noticeable! Below are a few more highlights from the week.

Apparently the rocks were more interesting then usual

Jades first time on a swing! She loved it!

Jamen and his friend Andrew feeding chickens

These two have so much fun together, they were so cute sitting in the back seat of the van

I'm pretty sure they would play together all day long if we let them. Its such a joy to see them play, I love that Jamen has a friend, even if its only for a time...and who knows maybe they will be friends again one day

How Big is Jade?

Jade may have had surgery on Wednesday but you'd never know it. Below is a video we took of her today, she just wanted to be tickled!

Jade is recovering very well, we have had no infections or problems with her playing with her face. She hasn't even been fussy do to pain, all her fussiness is cause we won't let her be normal...for example, she can't rub her eyes and face when she gets sleepy, she can't sleep without her arm restraints so she fusses cause she can't sleep how she likes. I keep telling her only 12 more days and things should be better. Thank you all for your support and prayers during this time, we have needed it all! Before I forget, the MRI results came in and her brain is normal! We are praising God for our healthy, happy baby girl!

Sweet Baby Jade

Here is Jade two hours before leaving for the hospital. Jon was trying to get her to drink some more liquids before the cut off time. We arrive to the hospital on time and got checked in. We ended up having to wait for 2 hours until they finally took Jade. We were a bundle of nerves, we spent our time in prayer and were so thankful to have Herb and Janet there for most of the time to talk with and keep our minds busy. The two hours and 15 min that we waited seemed very long but soon Jade was in recovery and we could see her! I wasn't prepared for all the medical hook ups that she still had on, like the IV in her neck, heart monitors, blood pressure cuff and pulse monitor. She was discharged in under an hour and we drove the 2 hours home. She slept for most of the ride home and when she woke up she smiled at me! Up to that point she recognized us but it was her smile that melted my heart! God is good and answered our prayers for safe surgery and a smiling and healthy functioning baby!

Jade did great her first night home, she woke to eat several times and then went right back to sleep. She hasn't been in any pain or so it seems, she's only gotten fussy when its time to sleep. The arm restraints have been great for sleeping and as long as we are right by her side when she is awake we take them off. Thank you for all your prayers! We should get the MRI results in a few days, we'll keep you all posted.

I had to post these picture as well, Jamen being silly and his new hair cut!

Trip to MO

One of our happy moments on our trip, the only one we caught on camera. We stopped and got fresh peaches, watermelon and fresh boiled peanuts...yum!

Our journey begins with leaving GA to head back to MO on a Monday. With our car packed tightly we said our goodbyes and set off. The first part of the morning went well. At lunch however we stopped in the middle of nowhere GA at a gas station that had some tables with shade and thinking it would be a good spot to eat, go potty and stretch our legs.

When we stepped out of the car we were hit with hot 98 degrees, I got Jamen out of the car and practically ran for the bathroom (we both had to go really bad). I get inside and ask the man where the bathrooms are, to which he replied "we don't have any!" Needless to say I took Jamen outside and let him pee in the grass (I had to hold it, all part of being a grownup I guess). I also had to change his clothes cause he had gotten them wet during the car ride from spilled water. I let the clothes hang in the sun while we ate.

Jamen in his clean clothes proceeded to get PB&J everywhere cause the gnats were so bad and kept flying in his eyes and face! He kept crying and saying "no bee!" We couldn't wait to get out of there! Without running water we managed to get Jamen cleaned up and back in the car. Jade had a hard time too cause it was so hot she didn't want to eat and the gnats were in her eyes as well. Once back in the car we rolled the windows down cause the air conditioner in the car only works when its cool (long story). We drove for a little while with the hot air cooling us down when Jon asked if I grabbed Jamens clothes, which I didn't. So now, day one we were short underwear and shorts!

So to make matters worse, we get to our campsite hot and tired only to find the park is empty! We couldn't find a single person! We couldn't just set up camp, we were stuck. We also didn't have any cell phone reception or GPS service. It was dinner time, it was still hot and the kids were getting cranky.

We finally found a place a few miles down the road and made camp the first night. The kids didn't want to go sleep, it was hot and didn't get dark until 9:30. We all had taken cool showers to help with the heat but it was a rough night. We had all gotten a little dehydrated and the fact that it was still hot all night didn't help. The above picture was the next morning cooking breakfast.

Day two we didn't get any pictures. We drove 5 hours to our next stop, all our stops went much smoother. No clothes were left behind, there were bathroom and we made sure we were all staying hydrated. We could tell it was hot but didn't find out till we got to our campsite that it was 102 but felt like 118! We got the tent up in time for a big thunderstorm to roll in, it didn't last long and it didn't help the heat.

The whole day I had been praying for a cool breeze, I knew it was going to be horrible sleeping again and I wasn't ready. God answered my prayer in a way I didn't expect. The couple in the campsite next to us gave us a fan to use for the night, it was AMAZING! We all slept soundly, it was still hot but it was much better than being without a fan. I've never been in that kind of heat all day, it was rough on everyone (remember we had no AC past 10:00am, so we were out in the heat all day)!

By day three we were feeling a little worn out but still ready to move on. We got to our new campsite at 11:00am thinking we could enjoy the area and relax a little. However once there we found out it was already 101! With Jamen crying and Jade wet with sweat, we decided it was too much. Its one thing as an adult to stay cool and know when you need to drink and it another thing for a 2 year old and a 7 month old. We went and found a hotel for the night. Above is Jade with her windblown hair and the biggest smile cause it was cool and she was out of the car! We found out later the area we were going to camp had reached 104 that day. We all got cool baths that night, the kids heat rashes went away and we all got re-hydrated! Once cooled off we all realized how tired we were, Jamen could barely finish his PB&J.

It was a cute town that we staid in that night, we walked downtown to the candy shop to get a "special snack" later that evening. Jamen was so cute, he'd never been in a candy store before (wal-mart doesn't count). Jamen picked out some gummy bears:-)

The next morning we took our time packing, enjoying the cool before going out into the heat again. We only had 3 hours to go on the fourth day and when we arrived in MO it was so cool! I had forgotten what it was like! Overall it was a good trip, it had its hard times but we made it. God provided every step of the way and that was cool to see, from the lady with the fan, to the refund on our nonrefundable campsite, money for food and a hotel!