Thanks for Praying!

We finally had (almost) a full night of sleep last night!! Matthew made it all day yesterday with no Tylenol the Doctor confirmed that he is healing, and should be fine in 3-4 days.

Also...This morning, upon waking at 6am, I noticed that Matthew's first tooth finally decided to push through. So, after 2 weeks of night waking and fussiness, we will never know if it was the tooth or the tonsillitis that caused all his distress. My guess is both. At any rate, we are grateful that he is back to our happy smiley boy (with a new pearly white as part of his smile.)

Matthew is also talking up a storm all of a sudden. We don't understand a word of it yet though. Uncle Steve thinks Matthew may be speaking in Romanian :-) It's funny though how he seems to learn new things in his sleep. He started "giving me five" two days ago. He also figured out how to get food into his mouth with his own hands. I will post the video of this as well as the "I don't like avocado" video today too. This is the best job in the world!!

Happy Halloween!

We will post photos of Matthew in his costume tomorrow, but for now, here are some photos of Greg and I from the party we attended this weekend. Some friends of our were married last Saturday and they had a fun costume party reception. Greg and I went in style :-)

We also captured these cute photos of Matthew at our friend Kathy's going away party last week.

Enjoy!!

A Visit to Great-Grandparent's

Matthew and I (Michelle) had so much fun visiting my grandparents 2 weeks ago. Matthew has been getting more and more daring with his attempts to crawl. We hope to be boasting of his new achievement by Thanksgiving!

While we were there, Matthew enjoyed these precious moments with his great-grandparents...and they really are great, trust me!! I love you grandma and grandpa!!

Poor grandpa though! He kept getting socked in the nose and had his glassed pulled off about 50 times :-) Matthew thought it was great fun!! It's so special to be able to share Matthew with the people that made my childhood so wonderful! I can remember trips to their house for as long as I have memories!

Please Pray for Matthew, Dylan and Rhyer!

Yesterday, Matthew developed a fever of 102.4 in the afternoon while we were in Lansing visiting friends and their 8 week old baby. We initially thought this fussiness and fever was a result of the pearly white tooth poking through this week, but a trip to the pediatrician this morning confirmed that it was more.

According to the Dr., Matthew has ulcers in the back of his throat (causing him to run a fever and refuse to sleep.) Apparently this is a viral infection which is typically passed along in a day care environment, so we are not really sure where he picked this up. Unfortunately time is the prescribed form of treatment with approximately 5-6 more days of fever and pain (she said). We are told to rotate Ibuprofen and Tylenol every 4 hours for the next 5 days.

Please pray that 8 week old Dylan stays healthy, despite the germs we unknowingly brought over yesterday, and that Matthew heals quickly and completely!! It wouldn't hurt to pray for mom and dad too, as we have not had a good nights sleep all week, and it looks like this will take 5-6 more days to run it's course.

On another sad note (sorry for all the bummer news today), we learned that Courtney and Bill's son Rhyer has had a stroke, causing brain damage on both sides of his brain. He also has NEC again, and will not be able to eat for at least 2 weeks. Bill had to return to work today, which will have his out of town for 3 days each week, and their 3 year old Emerson is still living with Grandma and Grandpa (breaking mom and dad's heart to be away during this tough time) They are staying at the Ronald McDonald house while Rhyer is having treatment, and will likely be there for another month. Please please pray for them. They are also in need of dinners, snacks, meal cards, calling cards and friendly faces. Thanks for loving them in the name of Jesus!!

It's a Tooth!!

We see a tooth!! After 5 nights of crying, whimpering and sometimes screaming...we have the crowning of Matthew's very first tooth. He is 8 months old tomorrow!! It is so interesting to watch a little person grow and develop and do new things each day. He is laughing at everything now, and tormenting poor Sierra at every opportunity, though she comes right back beside him for more punishment, so I think she actually likes it. They are quickly becoming best friends.


Matthew is also becoming very mobile, by pushing himself backward and round and round in circles. He is days away from outgrowing all the excer-saucers and bouncy seats we set him in for entertainment, so my life is about to get busy double time!! So much fun!!!

I have an update on baby Rhyer: Well, it looks like they finally got the NEC under control, but he has new complications. He has started having seizures and they have moved him back to a higher care level. Bill & Courtney are having a really tough time with all of this. Please pray for Rhyer's healing.

Greg is working on week 5 of the Detroit Rescue Mission series, and putting God's healing power on Prime Time TV has not come without a price. We have seen spiritual warfare at work. Please pray for God's hedge of protection specifically around Greg as he works to make the show a success each week.

Update on Rhyer

Today the doctors found that Rhyer does have NEC

Necrotizing Entercolitis:
The damage & death of cells
in the small & large intestine
from inflammation.


How did this happen? Not certain but several theories exist. It's thought that intestinal tissues are weakened by too little oxygen or blood flow, and when feedings are started the added stress of food moving through the intestine allow bacteria that are normally found in the intestine to invade and damage the wall of the intestinal tissue. This can cause a hole to develop in the intestine, and can lead to severe infection of the abdomen. The disease can progress very quickly so the treatment is serious to try and avoid abdominal surgery.

Currently Rhyer is on 3 antibiotics and is not allowed to eat for 7 days. The antibiotics are to kill the pathogens causing the infection. As for not feeding it cuts back on his bowel movements thus halting the bacteria from moving along his intestines and isolating the bacteria from spreading.

So GUYS please pray for little Rhyer, this kid has been up and down that roller coaster of life way too soon.

We are praying that Rhyer:

-Will not have a perforation in his intestine (hole) This can lead to the spread of the infection.
-That he has no scarring or narrowing of the intestine
-He has NO problems with food absorption
-NO INFECTION
-And that GOD feeds him and gives him comfort during this trial

Thank you on behalf of Bill, Courtney, Emerson and Rhyer (Pictured below)

Please pray for Rhyer

Dear Friends,

Rhyer is the little boy that was born to our friends Bill and Courtney almost 2 weeks ago. He was born with a serious heart condition that required immediate open heart surgery. It looked like he was recovering well and was looking forward to coming home when they noticed blood in his stool. They are afraid that he has a condition called N.E.C. due to his heart condition. So, the doctors are going to do x-rays every six hours around the clock to check on Rhyer's belly and try to determine what is going on. N.E.C. is not easily treatable and has serious complications, so please pray for the following:

1. That nothing would be wrong with Rhyer's belly, specifically, that he would not have N.E.C.
2. That Rhyer would not be in pain. (He is not allowed to have any food until they figure this out and he is not happy about that. It could be a while...)
3. That Bill and Courtney would feel God's presence and love.

Thanks,
Michelle and Greg

Time to baby-proof the house!

We are spending our Sunday putting in baby gates and cupboard latches!! Matthew is days away from crawling!! What a joy it is to watch him grow!! We are so thankful for him!!

Saturday at the Cider Mill

This Saturday we went on an outing to the Plymouth Cider Mill with Corina and her family. It was the perfect autumn day with lots of sunshine and crisp fall air. Somehow that makes the cider and donuts taste even sweeter!!


Matthew took a cat nap on the way over, so it was a challenge to get his smiley self to emerge. He was busy taking in all the new scenery!! We were able to take some photos of our wonderful day!


We bundled Matthew up in his new fall coat and hat. Here he is with Grandpa Jim sharing a cuddly moment :-)


It's not often that we both have an opportunity to be in a photo with Matthew. Grandpa Jim captured this great family moment for us!


This is one of our favorite photos of the day. Matthew sure has a special love for Corina!!


We returned the favor by catching a great family photo for Corina's family :-)


What a fun day we had!!

Peek-a-boo with my Sippy cup!

Bouncin' in my Excersaucer!!

Feet Clappin' Fun!!

A day at the park (October 2)

Yummmm Sweet Potatoes

Where's your Raspberries??

7 Months Old Today!!

Here are some 7 month photos I took of Matthew today.

Back from Alaska!

Uncle Steve and Aunt Dena got back from their honeymoon in Alaska on Monday. We were able to visit with them and see all their beautiful photos :-) and they brought back these awesome presents for Matthew. We love you Steve and Dena!! Of course Matthew saw the bottle at the same time, so it's hard to tell what he was more excited about.

First Visit To Chuck-E-Cheese

Matthew and I spent the afternoon with our good friends Jennifer and her daughter Madison.
We all had a great time until the 7 ft mouse (Chuck-E I presume) decided it was a good time to make his rounds. Matthew seemed to be amused by such a large mouse, and tried his best to grab his nose. Madison, who is 2-1/2, was scared for her life and screamed and hid for the next 20 minutes. It makes me wonder...how often does that happen?? I know I was terrified of all the characters at Kings Island when I was little. I'll bet it happens all the time. Despite the mouse appearance, we had a great afternoon and snagged these great photos.

Could it be Ragweed?

We noticed yesterday after our two mile walk that Matthew's "cold" symptoms seemed to be at their worst after he's spent time outdoors. I know that many of my friends have allergy trouble this time of year, so last night we turned on the air-conditioner as an experiment. To our delight, Matthew slept peacefully through the night-without a sniffle. It may be too soon to draw a conclusive argument, but we think he may be allergic to ragweed or mold (both are high outside right now.) I am sad to think we need to stay indoors all throughout the fall season. Any suggestions??

Soooo Big!!

Our little peanut was almost too small for his car seat when we brought him home from the hospital in March, and today we are graduating him to his toddler car seat. He is just about reached the weight and height limit for the infant carrier (21 lbs and 28"). He went from the 5% in his age group to the 75% in just 7 months!! Praise God he is growing so strong and healthy!!

Yummmm Carrots

We have a new favorite food! CARROTS!! Yummm!

Boo-hoo-Ah-Choo!!!

Matthew seems to have caught another cold. We are hoping this is not going to be a monthly trend. His last cold came 6 days shy of his 6 month b-day and we are now just 6 days before his 7-month b-day!! It is heartbreaking to hear his little sniffles as he looks up at us like, "why can't I breathe right?" His last cold lasted two weeks (which means he has been without this bug for two weeks, and now it's returned.) Please pray that this nasty bug finds Matthew to be an unsuitable home, and gets packing before it settles in.

Goodbye Grandpa and Grandma

This Sunday Matthew's grandparents (Michelle's parents) will be trading in their snow boots and winter coats for beach towels and sunglasses. While we will miss them dearly, we wish them well in their quest to live in sunny and warm Virginia Beach (who could blame them right?) They had lived there previously when Michelle's dad worked at Ford (prior to retirement) and the company moved him back to Michigan about 2 years ago. We knew it was only a matter of time before the sunshine called them back South-East-ward. Grandpa already has a job working for the church they will be attending, and his first day is Monday. They are having a home built that should be ready anytime between November and January. They still have their current house for sale in Northville. Please pray for a smooth transition for them in their move and for their house to sell here in the next few months. We love you Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue, and we look forward to vacations on the beach!!

Congratulations Steve and Dena!

Don't blink...you'll miss something.

Today Matthew decided that if he was going to get any place fast, he needed to get on all fours. I sat back in wonder with a smile on my face as he made it onto his knees, rocked back and fourth and proceeded to scoot backward about 2 feet. He is a bit confused to find his toys getting further away when he does this, but mom and dad sure think it's cute!


In case you were anxious for the update on solid foods and teething, Matthew now eats sweet peas (yummm) Green beans (double yummm) and rice cereal and oatmeal. As for the pearly whites, no sign of them yet, though I promise they are not far from making an appearance.

Now we know what people meant when they said "you'll miss something if you blink." He really is growing that fast!! I will post some wedding photos from my brothers wedding Sunday very soon. Congratulations to Uncle Steve and Aunt Dena!!

Love,
Michelle