RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus.

Just sounds awful, doesn't it?

And it was...

Our poor sweet little baby Quinn turned 3 months old last week... in the hospital.

What started out as a yucky cough on Wednesday, turned into too much wheezing and labored breathing by that Sunday night, despite breathing treatments every 4 hours. We saw the Dr. on Monday morning, and Quinn was in enough respiratory distress to require admitting him.

Thankfully, God really helped us stay pretty calm throughout the process, and it wasn't until later that afternoon that it really started to sink in that we were in for quite a week.

One of us had to be with him at the hospital all the time, despite the 4 other little guys we needed to take care of. Weston really did great pulling so much extra weight on the homefront, and we are so thankful for everyone who helped us out in so many ways, especially Weston's dad who drove all the way from PA to be here from Wednesday PM thru Sunday to help manage the insanity. He did tons of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and was incredible with the boys.

Quinn was quite the trooper though. They had to put him on oxygen at 3AM Tuesday morning. (and we were given the warning that if he continued to get worse, he'd be moved to Peoria, 45 minutes away) The nurse warned me to be prepared because she's rarely seen a baby handle it well when its first put on. He didn't even make a peep.

It was hard to watch him cough so much, and be so miserable at times, but mostly he was pretty content and happy. The nurses just adored him, and the nursing students kept ending up in our room just to play with him.
I think he loved having my undivided attention. And it was nice to be able to give him that, and to watch him truly discover his voice and his hands that week. Something that might have slipped right by my radar had it been a normal week at home.

The funniest moment was went he learned how to use his hand to push his oxygen tube off. It was about 11:30PM, and I was trying to get him to sleep for the night, and he knocked it off. At first I thought it was accidental, but then he repeated it over and over again about 20 times and kept grinning at me like he just discovered time travel. Although I was somewhat panicking that I was going to spend all night fixing it and not get any sleep, I had to call Weston because I couldn't stop laughing and had to share his cleverness.

The started weaning him off the oxygen on Thursday, and we were released on Friday. What a whirlwind. We are so thankful that he's been doing well since.

Just another sweet picture of Quinn...

who is such a sweetie.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

I love how schools (and libraries) find great excuses for celebrations! Dr. Seuss Day, or Read Across America day, was always one I looked forward to when I taught. So when I saw Sam I Am socks in the dollar bin at Target many months ago, I had to get some for C and A and stash them away... And, I actually remembered to use them on the right day! I also dressed them in red striped shirts... but would you believe I totally forgot about the Thing 1 and Thing 2 shirts the twins have? (So they wore them today, a day late...)
















The library had a fun dinner, with creative food, crafts, stories, and door prizes. Ethan won a Cat in the Hat book with an accompanying CD, of which he is very proud. It was a fun evening!

Sweetest Chubby Cheeks

Weighing in at 14 and a half pounds at 2 months old.

No doubt he's loved.

I get asked quite frequently... how are the older boys adjusting to the new baby? And I can honestly report that they are still thrilled to pieces with him. Each morning, they greet him with a majorally enthusiastic, "Baby Quinn!", and practically smother him with attention. (I'll admit, I can't leave him unsupervised with them for long, being afraid of just how they will try to 'comfort' him, or 'play with' him.)
I have not even yet seen one glimpse of animosity or resentment, even when they have to wait to have their needs met because of his.

Thought these pictures communicated well their love for him. I often find Quinn surrounded with somebody's "lovey", which they don't share with just anyone.

My Knight in Shining Armor

We celebrated Aidan's birthday with a party last Saturday; a much anticipated knight- themed party. He had a blast, of course, as did his brothers.





















































Sir Hugs-a-Lot




















Ethan, Aidan, Caleb, and Kellan





















Kellan, after he rescued the princess during a jousting/horse riding relay.






















The Dragon Cake



















Our big 4-year-old.

>

Happy 4th Birthday Aidan!

We love you!

more Quinn

Couldn't wait. Had to share these pics of our cutie.

Teaser

I know a post about Quinn is long overdue... but even finding a few spare minutes lately seems next to impossible. So here is, at least, a preview of some pictures.

God working in the heart of a little boy.

We recently celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and like all good little kindergarten classrooms, the boys and girls in Caleb's class learned a bit about the peace-making dreams of this great man. One project they did was to draw and write about their own 'dream'. While I was volunteering last week, I noticed these up on the bulletin board in the school hallway, and I stopped to ponder over Caleb's. I honestly couldn't quite figure out what it was. I just didn't get the picture, and couldn't quite decipher the words.

A few days ago he brought it home in his backpack, so I was able to ask him about it. He couldn't quite read his own writing or remember his exact words, but he expressed that his dream was for everyone to have a family. Then I realized what it said, "My dream... is that there would be no orphans." (or orfuns, as he thought it should be spelled) The picture is of a family coming to pick up a little child who is all alone.

Okay, so of course I started crying as I hugged and affirmed him. Wow.

We've talked a little with him about orphans, and our desire to adopt, but it is definitely God in him taking this more to the forefront of his heart.