Family Photo Shoot

We had pictures taken today for our new church directory, but first decided to try to get a few shots at home...Look who's 199-days old today! (Yes, I count everything)I pray that these 2 will always be best buds...No more pictures, Mom!

Amoxicillin Nightmare

Back on December 26th when we found out Noah had RSV - he was on a nebulizer as well as prednosoline and amoxicillin. On day #10 Noah experienced a rash & we discovered he was allergic to amoxicillin (see pictures below). On Wednesday, January 21st I received a horrible phone call. I was out doing site-visits for work & was in Rushford - my cell had no signal. I reached the main road & my phone was beeping with missed calls. It was my mom - who never calls me when I'm at work. I called back & she told me that Noah wouldn't/couldn't move his arms & legs - and "collapsed." She called my dad & also contacted Jeff. I flew home (first time I've ever gotten the Jeep up to 85mph!) and Noah at that time had fallen asleep on the living room floor - which is very odd for him - since he's a boy who walks himself upstairs & basically puts himself to bed. When he woke up - Jeff & I were talking to him. He wouldn't get up. He finally did get up, because he said he wanted to brush his teeth - and took inch-steps, dragging his legs like an old man who just had surgery. Jeff tried handing Noah his toothbrush & Noah couldn't move his arm to get it. Again, we rushed off to our Pediatrician's office. Dr. Kassas spent nearly an hour & a half with us, trying to figure out what was going on with Noah. What a NIGHTMARE it was - as it could be either - yet ANOTHER reaction to the amoxicillin OR muscle degeneration. Lots of tears were shed, as we were on day #26 of Noah not being healthy. We were sent to the hospital for X-rays to make sure nothing was broken. Nothing. That night, we were told to give Noah Motrin around the clock as well as to have him sleep with us. Noah has never slept with us before - so he was having "fun" talking our ears off. At 12:30am as we gave him another dose of Motrin, we decided to lay him in his own bed, for no one was getting any sleep. We continued to check on him throughout the night. Morning came & Noah was doing well - Praise the Lord. Back to Dr. Kassas's office at 9am - he was pleased that Noah was doing SO much better. Dr. Kassas had called his neurologist-friend down in Pittsburgh who had told him that with such a severe reaction as Noah's that THIS could be another result - and also that the x-rays showed joint inflammation. Noah could experience this for up to anther 2 weeks. And so it began - Thursday he was fine - Friday the 23rd his left-leg was dragging a bit. Saturday, he was fine & we decided to make a trip up to Jeff's parents in Derby to FINALLY celebrate Christmas with them. Sunday, Noah was fine - but extremely tired. Monday - he was fine and Tuesday his leg/hip was bothering him. As of Wednesday - the 28th - Noah was doing great & had taken NO medicine. As I write this (Saturday, Jan 31st) Noah is going on day #4 of NO meds! Praise the Lord. We are so thankful for everyone's prayers. This has been such a nightmare for us. I've really learned what it means to pray without ceasing. I now know how much HURT a parent can feel for their child... how much love a parent has for their child. As you can see, Noah still gets a bit of his traveling rash - here it's showing up on his forehead, along with his nice bruise from being unstable & crashing into the rocking chair.
To be thankful for "small" things such as your health, the ability to freely move your arms & legs, to want to eat - are all such blessings. Ah, Mr. Magoo- we love you so much & are so thankful you are doing better!
Here's to February...

Baby It's Cold Outside

Saturday, the 17th, we woke up and our digital thermometer read -18 and only 60 degrees inside, before we turned up the heat for the day. It's so cold - I don't quite remember it being this cold before.And we keep getting snow, snow, and more snow...Jeff (finally, as he would say) got a snow blower this year & is thrilled! I have to admit, he's diligent about keeping the driveway cleaned up now :) As the kids are feeling better and temperatures in the negatives - we are praying for February to come soon and bring us something good!

Back in the Saddle Again

I had to laugh the other day - Noah still was laying low, but when I went to see what he was up to - he had his cowboy hat on while watching Curious George. Silly kid!

Sherwood Christmas

Every Christmas night, the Sherwood's (my mom's side of the family) has a big celebration. I made Butterscotch Tumbleweeds for my dish to pass:4-generation picture: Norah & Me, Grandma Sherwood, and my mom: Cousins Marie, Naomi, and Owen (where was 'Nessa?!)

We play a game of White Elephant (so much fun, but Laura - you better be there next time!) My sister-in-law Sherry "froze" the gift I brought: X-Sharp Cabot Cheddar & Multi-Grain Club House Crackers... my dad was eyeing it - because Sherry "stole" it from him!

Noah being silly with Jeff!

Cousin Eli -

Cousin Alisha & Norah. I love this picture - it looks like Norah is rolling her eyes & thinking "Yeh, really - can you believe it?!"

Aunt Joan & Don -

And my most wonderful grandparents -

Nothing makes me smile more than to hear Grandpa laugh & to see his crooked-smile. I have the BEST grandparents ever!

Turkey Dinner

Back on Sunday, the 4th I made a turkey dinner - since we were home with sick kids. Luckily, my Christmas "present" from work this year was a turkey... it was sooooooo yummy.

Nothing taste better than turkey, mash 'taters & stuffing!

Allergic Reaction

So, back on Dec. 26th when we found out Noah had RSV, he was also taking amoxicillin. After taking a complete dose for 10 days, we discovered on Tuesday, January 6th that Noah was itching & had this rash. I had gone over to our pediatrician's office & was instructed to take pictures & send them to him. That evening, Dr. Kassas called and told us that it was an amoxicillin rash & that Noah was allergic. We weren't too surprised, because Jeff & his mom are allergic, too. Although - at this time, we were told to have Noah take Benadryl & to watch for a fever...

It got worse. On Wednesday, the 7th - Jeff & I got home & discovered Noah covered like this:

It's hard to tell in this picture - but his legs were welted horribly, too. Jeff threw Noah in the car & rushed him off to Dr. Kassas's. Noah also had a fever of 103! We found out that Noah's reaction was SEVERE & we got more scripts & were told to monitor him closely...which wasn't hard since Noah had NO energy & clung to us. Poor little guy.

Poor lil' Noah...we were going on 2 weeks of him being sick! This rash is/was so weird...it travels. One minute it'd be just on his body, the next minute, it'd be on his face.

We've been told it could take 2-3 weeks for it to totally go away - and somedays it's pretty much gone, only to be seen again in the morning. This picture (below) was taken on Thursday, the 8th. That afternoon, it was on Noah's forehead for most the day.

He had a bit more energy - to show us his belly & to hold his guitar.

And, it's now the 19th...and he's feeling much, much better. He's currently sleeping, otherwise I'd get a picture. He just has a few small blotches here & there.

I'll be so thankful when he's 100% better!

6 Months

Lil'Miss Norah is 6 months old today! Where has the time gone?

The Christmas Slippers

Noah has quite the obsession with any & all things Curious George. He refers to George as "Hee Hee" (the sound George makes). He had been doing this silly thing of picking up our television remote and using it as a phone...calling Santa (whom he calls "Ho Ho") and saying, "Ho, ho -- Hee Hee's please, yep...Noah, thank you, bye." He's been calling Santa for new slippers! It's so cute. On Christmas morning, he hadn't opened his new slippers yet & had picked up the remote (phone) & of course, asked Santa for new slippers...so it was time for us to let him open his next gift. Noah had a flat tire...

The new slippers. We couldn't find new Curious George slippers in Noah's size - BUT, he's pretty tickled that Santa brought him what he asked for!

The only "problem" now is that Jeff & I are too sentimental to throw Noah's old slippers out!

Christmas Morning '08

Noah, being nearly 2 1/2 - really was excited about Christmas this year. When he saw the stockings filled (by the chimney with care) and the presents, he exclaimed, "Ho ho ho!!" The funny thing was, he didn't really know that HE got to open them. Santa brought Noah a coloring book in his stocking...A little snowman book...Hmm, there's more in there?Oh... a Hallmark Ornament - which is a tradition we do with the kids each year.He was so cute, he looked it all over & then wanted to put in on the tree!Then, he discovered a piece of Dove chocolate in the toe of his stocking...And a snake. This picture is one of my favorite because you can see his chocolate is tucked away in the side of his cheek still...Lil' Miss's turn.Oh! I got a little book, too - only mine has a reindeer on it!She was quite excited!Noah, scoping out Jeff's ornament...A gift to Daddy, from Noah & Norah...A Galileo thermometer...Noah, opening one of his presents...Oh boy - I love this racetrack!Opening another gift (please note, the 4 gifts he got - he opened in a three-hour time span!)YAY! Sesame Street... Little did we know, at this time, that Noah was coming down rather sick. He had a cough & by the 26th he had a temperature of 103. We had called our pediatrician's emergency number, Noah had a chest x-ray, and we discovered he had RSV. The 26th was a miserable day for Mr. Noah - and we ended up missing Christmas with the Joslyn's as well as Jeff's parent's 40th wedding anniverary dinner. SO, still more fun to be had sometime in January. So began the journey for Jeff & I of "Sick Kiddos, Christmas Vacation '08."