Our little Trooper

Tears for food started off Jake's morning yesterday. Poor thing could not have food or drink after midnight until after his surgery. He went on to school to keep his mind off of the upcoming event in his life. Jason and I went to pick him up and he had taken his first spelling test. He was beaming that he had made a 102! We were so excited. Jason, Jake, and I drove to Mother Frances Hospital. We checked in and everything moved pretty quick after that.

They had to mark the spot where surgery would be performed. The knot you see is VERY small compared to what it was a week ago.

Jake did so well until about 11:30. This boy was hungry! I bet he said so over 100 times while waiting to go back. Here, he did not get upset about the actual surgery and what was about to happen. He through a HUGE FIT about having to take off his shirt and wear a gown. Jake is extremely modest. Finally, the nurse told us he could just wait until he was on the goofy medicine. Thank you!!!!

So, I gave him the syringe full of medicine and within a few minutes he was relaxing.

They took him back quickly after that. It was so hard seeing our baby roll away. The night before a nightmare kept haunting me...they would roll Jake away, but NEVER bring him back.

Dr. L came out and spoke to us about all the details after only 40 or so minutes. God is good ALL THE TIME!! We had prayed the infection would subside so the surgery would be successful. Well, God answered those prayers even more than we expected. Originally Jake was going to have the cyst and part of a bone removed. God shrunk the cyst so small that Dr. L could not find the tract that lead around the bone. So, he removed the cyst and the scar tissue. Dr. L said it is a smaller incision than what it would have been. Woo hoo!

Jake decided he liked sleeping with the oxygen mask and slept 40 minutes after surgery. He woke up with no screams or major side effects. He just wanted to know when he could take off the mask. The nurse was very pleased.

Most children wake up screaming.

After recovery we went up to the children's floor. After, he drank a 7 UP and went to the restroom we were ready to leave. Jake was SO HUNGRY! We waited 2 hours to be dismissed. It was about 5pm when we got that little trooper some food. He did so well and we are very proud of him. He is acting great and still has had NO pain medicine. The doctor told us Jake could go to our family reunion this weekend as long as he did not run and jump around. We are really excited because him and Jason were going to have to stay at home all weekend.

A Time to Celebrate

Jolie Marie Carlile

October 5,2008

8lbs.4ozToday is our youngest baby girl's 1st Birthday We had her monkey birthday party at church yesterday.

Happy Birthday to Jolie, Happy Birthday to Jolie, Happy Birthday dear Jolie.....

Big Sister, Jaelynn, and Big Brother, Jake, loving on their Little Sister.
Yum!

Today in her birthday fancy clothes. She loves walking in her new squeaky shoes.

Jolie laughing at the squeak squeak of her shoes. :0

Lunch at Luby's.
Chicken Spaghetti and grapes for dinner. This girl can eat!

We gave her a guitar that plays music. She loves for Jason to play his guitar for her.
This girl has some rhythm and dance moves. The music starts and she immediately stands up to dance and clap.
Jolie is such a joy in our lives. She is a mover and a climber like none I have ever seen. We have had so much fun this year. I can't wait to see what the years ahead hold for this cheerful and full of energy precious child. We love you Jolie Marie and you are our Pretty girl!

Who is Your Driver?

I sit and think of all I am truly blessed with in my life. My goodness God has blessed me with a Godly husband, 3 wonderful children,a family and friends who are very involved in our lives and who are always there for us, a church family who uplifts us in prayer, etc.... But, sometimes just like the sermon tonight in our Going Deep series I still feel UGH! I am "swimming" in love and knowing that peace is there all around me. I just can't seem to grasp it right now. Have you ever wished days, weeks, and/or months away? I am finding myself saying if I can just make it past this or this or this. Our life is spinning in crazy circles right now. Surgery, birthdays, PTO, Jason has Poison Oak, and with moving right around the corner means I know I need to be packing and have not started one box! Ever been in my shoes? I am sure you have at some point. Trials always bring us closer to God. Our wonderful FBC preacher says if your not in a trial, just got out of one, or about to go through one then your not living. (Don't quote me exactly, but he said something to that affect.) So, I better just buckle up and hold on for the ride because I want God as my driver!

Overwhelmed but Comforted

Yes, that is how I feel overwhelmed, but knowing I need to rely on the only ONE who can give me comfort during this time of trial. Jake had his doctor appointment today to discuss the ultrasound results, surgery date and procedures. Just like last time he took his last antibiotic pill the night before his appointment. I got a call today from the school nurse saying Jake's throat was really hurting and could I please explain what she saw on his neck. So, I did and I picked him earlier than expected. When I saw his neck it was really red and bigger than it was this morning. Does this sound like the last post before our last appointment? Jason met me at the doctor's office this visit to hear all the details. Dr. L noticed that the ultrasound read 6(something...don't know the unit of measurement) by 6. Today it read 12 by 12!!! It had DOUBLED in a WEEK! And, remember that is on the 2nd round of antibiotic. The prayers that need to be lifted up for Jake are that the infection will subside for the surgery on the 8th to be successful. If it does not then the cyst can get inflamed again. Please Lord comfort us during this time. We know You are our refuge in times of darkness.
During this crazy time for Jake it also birthday time for our two girls. Jolie will celebrate her 1st on the 5th and Jaelynn will celebrate her 8th on the 10th. So, I hope we can give them their days filled with happiness and joy like they deserve!!! Especially so for Jaelynn since her little sister came home a few days before her birthday last year. Then, this year her brother is having surgery. I do not want Jaelynn to feel that every year the focus is not on her for her special day. She is such a sweet girl and does not complain about all the parties at different times instead of on her birthday. :)
We are having a Going Deep week at our church. The guest preacher was there Sunday morning, evening, tonight, Tuesday, and the last night will be Wednesday. I have only got to hear him one time so far, but he was so good! Last night he challenged us to take one phrase out of Psalm 23 and focus on it all week. I am focusing on..."they(meaning the rod and staff of God) will comfort me." I will stay focused on this the next few weeks. To rely on God for peace and comfort.

Update on Jake

This morning Jake took his last pill like he has done so well over the course of ten days. I had to pick him up early from school for his 3:10 follow up Dr visit. When I looked at his throat it was RED again!!! UGH! I was so glad to be going to the doctor for him to see it. We had to wait what seemed like forever to see Dr. L. He said the cyst is inflamed again and put Jake on another round of antibiotics. He told me surgery is in our very near future. We are waiting to hear when our ultrasound appointment is this week. The lady who schedules this was not available this afternoon. Dr. L only does surgery on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He told me Jake would stay overnight and would miss school for a WEEK!!!! So that is all I know right now. I will update you on when the ultrasound appointment will be this week. Please continue to pray for us. Jake is finally start to understand a little more of what is about to happen. Thank you. With love and concern!!!!

I Can't Believe the Time is Flying by...........

As we were sitting on the couch tonight we were watching our baby who will be 1 year old a month from today! Time is flying by and she is growing up too fast. Jolie took three steps in a row yesterday, but NOT in front of me of course. Mom, Dad, and Jake got to witness the milestone. She is trying to use a spoon on her own. She LOVES music, clapping, and dancing. We have got to video that future talent. ;) Ha ha!

Jaker Man

I decided I would blog about our little man and let you know what is going on in our crazy life right now. It started the weekend before the first day of school. He ran a low grade fever and complained of his throat hurting. He held his neck kinda of funny,but we just thought his allergies were really acting up like the rest of ours. The fever only hung around one day! So, off he went to school and acted pretty much "normal". :) I would notice every once in awhile that he was still holding his neck at an odd angle, but still not too concerned. He was still practicing soccer, going to school, running, jumping,and very active. Well, this Thursday night we were reading our bedtime books and I was watching him. I asked him if his neck was still bothering him and he said, "Yes,sometimes". So, I asked him to look down, around, and then up. OH BOY, at what I saw!!!! He had a HUGE knot on his "Adam's apple". I called Jason and asked him to please come home from Bible Study.Then, I called my mom to please stay with the girls. We took him to the hospital and waited FOREVER to be told we needed to see a ENT the next morning! Oh well, I could not have slept a wink not having someone look at it that night. So, I took Jake the next morning to an ENT. We had never seen this Dr before and ours was off on Fridays. Dr. L was nice and did good with Jake. He asked ALOT of questions...one being when did we first notice this on his neck. Umm...I felt like screaming we are not neglectful parents who have waited months or longer to bring our baby into the Dr!!! But, I kindly stated the fact that last night was the first sighting of the mass. Anyway, he explained that this is a cyst that Jake has had since he was in the womb and just now got infected. Here is a link explaining thyroglossal cysts better. He will have to have surgery to remove it. :( Jake is on a very strong antibiotic to clear up the infection. It is in capsule form. Which Jake HATES taking pills!!! So, I they told me you can break them open and pour them into applesauce or something like that. I decided to pour into his favorite yogurt. He was screaming "Oh Oh, this tastes AWFUL!!! Oh Oh, this tastes nasty....." Can you see the picture? I am sure this never happens to anyone else right? Poor baby has to take this awful tasting medicine three times a day. The next time came around and I asked if he wanted applesauce this time or yogurt again. He first screamed "NO, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THAT MEDICINE AGAIN!!!!!" Then, I so calmly said it is either that or swallow the big pill your choice. Guess what he did on the 1st try...yep swallowed that big thing right down. I could not believe it!! Now we are in the waiting stages to see what is next. We go back to Dr. L next Friday and they will do a Cat scan or a sonogram. Then, they will schedule the surgery. Please pray that it will be a quick recovery and things will go smoothly for our little guy.