VOTE FOR CLAIRE!!

Please help us choose a picture to submit to Regis and Kelly's Beautiful Baby Contest! The entry is due this Friday and we need your help. There are 15 pictures scrolling. Post a comment voting for your favorite picture of Claire!

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Superbowl Fun!!

I've been a little slow about posting lately, so I'm attempting to catch up! We've had so much going on lately that there is much to tell. Claire is always giving me things to share :)

Superbowl Sunday was a great day, even though it got off to a rocky start. Sunday morning I woke up feeling a little blue. I'm not sure why, but I was just down and not myself. After showering and beginning to get ready for church, I asked Lee if he would go without me. I wanted a little time to unwind and relax. He said he'd take Claire to church and then come home for lunch. I enjoyed a little time to myself and got some much needed rest. I still wasn't feeling like myself, but I was feeling a little better (I"m telling you all of this so that I can brag on my sweet husband). When Lee and Claire came back home, he was carrying sacks from Publix. He and Claire had stopped on the way home from church to pick up some goodies for me. He had flowers, 3-D glasses, and lots of junk food!! He said that he knew I'd been feeling down and wanted to have a fun Superbowl celebration with all the bad food we could eat. How wonderful is he?? He always knows just what to do to make me feel better. He suggested we invite mom, dad, and Gretchen to join us. So, we had a great Superbowl fiesta with wings, boneless wings, pizza, chips and queso, ice cream, and cookies. It was a great night!!

More Firsts.....

It seems that Claire's "firsts" just keep on coming--whether good or bad. Just last week she started sitting herself up. I clicked the monitor on (just to see what she was up to) and she was staring at me! She had managed to get herself from lying down to sitting up and playing. Wow! Unfortunately that was not the only first we've had recently. This morning Claire got her first 'boo-boo'. Of course, I am to blame.

We have a routine that we go through every day. Claire plays on my bed while I get ready in the adjoining bathroom. I place pillows all the way around her and put toys in the middle. Since she is not exactly mobile, this has worked out great. Until today.

I can see her from where I sit to get ready and had just checked on her while she played. I was putting on my makeup when it happened. I heard the most sickening thump. Claire had crawled, or rolled, off of the bed. Of course I panicked!!! I ran and scooped her up as she wailed. If you are around Claire for any amount of time you know that she doesn't cry. So when she decides to sound off, I know she's hurt or scared. I felt so bad. She calmed down rather quickly--much more so than I did--and seemed to recover. I immediately called my mother who asked me a few simple questions and helped calm me down. Claire has a rug burn on her forehead where she hit the carpet, but otherwise, seems to be fine. She was laughing and playing in no time. My heart still races when I think about it!!! I do not look forward to any more of these firsts. Thank you, Lord, for protecting my baby.

Enjoy these pictures of the pre-boo-boo Claire!

My sweet angel!

Love from Annabelle

Happy post!

Since my last few posts have been about serious things, I thought I'd post some new Claire photos for everyone to enjoy. By the way, Lee is doing good and got a good report on Monday!

All dressed up and ready for church

Getting ready to brave the elements in the beautiful sweater and hat set from Mrs. King

Free at last!!!!

Lee came home yesterday!! Hooray!! He is finally eating again and his symptoms have improved. We did receive the results from the biopsies and they were negative. Praise the Lord! The doctor was cautious to say that this could still be the beginnings of IBD, but we are believing that it is not! We do not have a lot of confidence in the GI group that's been treating him. So, we are going to a new specialist on Monday (thank you, Stacy!!) that will hopefully be more helpful. We are still waiting on the results from another blood panel that can show IBD. These results may take a couple of weeks to come back. In the meantime, he is being treated with medications for ulcerative colitis and he seems to be improving. Please keep praying that this will turn out to have been a terrible infection and nothing more. I will try to post something more fun and uplifting tomorrow--I sure am tired of talking about sickness :)

Here's the latest...

Lee had the colonoscopy this morning. According to the doctor that performed the procedure, he has colitis. We are awaiting biopsy results to find out if the inflammation is from severe infection (this is what we are hoping for) or if it is chronic. If the results indicate that it is chronic, that would mean IBD. IBD is a "catch-all" term for conditions such as Chrones disease or Ulcerative Colitis. We do not want this diagnosis. Please pray for a good report!!!!

He seems to be in better spirits today and is ready to leave the hospital. If he is able to tolerate food and his symptoms continue to be controlled by medication, he will get the green light. This could be as early as tomorrow evening. This all depends, of course, on his body's response and the test results we receive tomorrow. Thanks to all of you that have called, e-mailed, commented or 'facebooked' me. I have passed along all of your well wishes to Lee. I'll keep you all posted!!

Lee's progress....or lack thereof

Yesterday Lee had a great day. He was eating some oatmeal, walking around, and back to his usual sharp-tongued self :) Unfortunately he had a tough night. This morning he was feeling much worse. So, the doctors have ordered more testing. He will have a colonoscopy tomorrow morning and has already had more lab tests sent--we are awaiting results. The doctors still feel that his symptoms are consistent with an infection, but he isn't improving on the current course of treatment. They are going to make sure there is nothing else going on that needs different treatment. If this is in fact an infection, it is the mother of all infections!! I'm staying with him tonight helping him prepare for the morning's procedure. Please continue to pray that the doctors will find out the cause of his symptoms and there will be nothing seriously wrong. Also pray that we will have knowledgeable, kind doctors that will be helpful to us. So far this has not been the case. We are accepting referrals from anyone with experience in this area :)