Merry Christmas!

Thank you for my Christmas outfit Mamaw & Papaw!

Wordless Wednesday

8 weeks!

Our best girl is 8 weeks old!





And sleeping 8p to 5am!

Random Pictures...keeping up to date.

I am trying to keep this blog regularly updated although there is no enough time in the day!

Oh my sweet, adorable, hilarious, snuggly Wellsie. You are growing up so much and are SO handsome!

 Ruby loves her bath time!

 Thanksgiving. About as good as I could get for a sibling pic but I'll take it. They sure do adore their baby sister. 

 On my birthday the boys were armed and ready to spray me with silly string...it's all fun and games until...

 I got them. 

 Oh dear. That didn't go over well. Porter ran to the laundry room screaming bloody murder. That made Wells cry which woke up Ruby. All 4 screaming at 8am. Happy Birthday to me! ;)

I actually had a fabulous 30th birthday. It's not what I thought for my 30th and golden birthday. I had always hoped it to be a little fancier but with me being sick we stayed home and decorated for Christmas and it was actually a fabulous day. Except not much decorating gets done with 4 little ones so I ended up staying up late (until 1am...thanks to those steroids I can't sleep) and getting decorating done in peace and quiet. And it was wonderful. I'll have to do a Christmas hour tour! It's nothing fancy but for the first year in a new house, it feels cozy! :) I am so blessed with a wonderful husband and 4 beautiful and healthy kids. Best presents ever. Plus the boys bought me a ninja blender, a very nice cutting board, a tumbler, candles and roses! spoiled I was!! They were so excited that we had to celebrate with smoothies for breakfast. Woohoo!

-{G}

Ulcerative Colitis Update

So I really feel like that's what I should've done before my first Ulcerative Colitis update. I clearly was not in the best frame of mind to post an update. More like exhausted and confused. So, here is the update::
My GI wanted me to see another GI specialist at the Chrons/Colitis center at the Baylor Med. Their first available was December 5th but my doctor called and I ended up being seen the very next day (last Tuesday). It really was such a blessing to get right in and get some questions answered and to be seen by some of the top doctors within a few weeks of my diagnosis. That really is amazing and I am so thankful! There are many who flounder around with a general practitioner/ER for quite some time before getting a diagnosis. 
Long story short:: This is definitely a chronic condition. This is something that I will live with for the rest of my life. This is my body going into a hyper response (auto immune) and attacking my colon. I am currently trying to wean myself off the steroids (note all the puffy face pictures of me below. ack! Don't like prednisone!!) although the doctors warned me it's not going to be easy. The reason my GI locally passed me off to Baylor med is bc it took nearly 2 weeks for the steroids to kick in and my ridiculous flare to calm down. I guess that's about 10 days too long so everyone is under the impression my colon is going to need stronger meds to suppress the reaction. for the rest of my life.
I, however, feel like it took a while to get so sick, surely it's going to take a while to heal up. The GI doctor and I had a good long conversation about how diet plays a role in all this and she said it has none. But, that doesn't make much sense to me. In fact, over the past few weeks I've been connected with other Ulcerative Colitis patients and they have acknowledged that a change in diet has definitely helped their symptoms. So, I'm continuing to look at how food plays a role into this and would like to pursue some food allergy/sensitivity testing and go from there.

Good News: 

We really do have so much to be thankful for. It could ALWAYS be worse and really, I'm going to be just fine. It's going to take a while. It's going to be a long, long journey. Everyone's body is different so it's going to take a while to figure out what does and doesn't work for me. My husband has been my rock. The fact that I've already been diagnosed and seen some of the top specialists is a blessing.

I was just reminded the other day driving around this big city that it is no chance we are in Houston. It is no mistake that we happened to move when we did, where we did. God has orchestrated every move.

There were a few really rough days, I am not going to lie. It felt very dark, very lonely. I came to know the Lord and accepted Him as my Savior when I was six years old. I grew up in a loving Christian home. Yet it’s been this year that has tested my faith to the fullest. It has caused me to stand on what I said I believed all those years. 

Prayer changes everything because it releases God’s wisdom into your circumstances.

Grammy sent me an email one night with the verse Colossians 2:6-7

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Such a powerful word and it was so greatly needed. Thank you, Grammy, for clicking "send" and encouraging me!

Other verses that have been on the forefront of my mind:

Jesus will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born. [Isaiah 66:9]

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. -Isaiah 41:10
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9 

I am blessed. I have a beautiful family, a loving husband, four gorgeous kids, a new church that has done nothing but provide meals and support to us and the list goes on. 

Some have asked how to specifically pray: 

RIght now the first step is getting me off these steroids. Not only are the side effects horrible, the effects reek havoc on one's body. The doctors actually don't think I can get off of them easily. We are trying to do an ever-so-slow taper. 

complete healing and repair of my colon. just like the name of ulcerative colitis says, my colon is filled with tons of little ulcers and is severely inflamed . that is going to take time to heal and my prayer is that it would completely heal and that the body will repair itself.

Yesterday was the first time since Ruby was born that we were all able to go to church, as a family of SIX. What an encouragement the body of believers can be and we are thankful for the new community we are getting to know! It was a beautiful day of worship. 

Happy Birthday to Kit!

With all the craziness of life it was fun to stop and just celebrate Kit's birthday for the evening last Thursday. The boys decorated with crepe paper and we blew up balloons and it was a fun evening to just relax and enjoy. We tried to get a few pictures but with 4 under 5...that "perfect" picture just isn't going to happen. It's still fun to take a picture of the chaos. At least they are cute!! 

6 weeks & appt!

Ruby girl had an appointment and is a growing girl!

She weighed 10#5 ounces 

21 3/4" long!

18 months

Height:33"

Weight: 25.5 pounds

What's been going on

So...this is a very hard blog post to write. I really don't even know where to begin. I don't have all the answers and still have questions I am trying to seek out. 

At 36 weeks with Ruby, I began having some problems and after seeing my doctor, was given antibiotics to treat what we thought was a bacterial infection, like I had during Wells' pregnancy. Only that didn't work. I wasn't getting better. But so close to delivery what can one do? Then, I delivered and  wasn't getting any better. In fact...worse..much worse. I ended up going to the hospital and through a series of tests and specialists, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.  To say I've been in shock about this auto-immune disease is an understatement. Like a bad dream. Being postpartum and adjusting to life with a new baby is always a challenge, but this has been a whole new level of recovery & understanding. 

Thankfully, my mom has stayed in town. There is no way I'd be able to take care of my family without her help. 

I've tried two different diets, am on medications and am barely getting any relief. We have another doctor appointment this afternoon and we are really praying to get some answers. I would really like to be able to take care of family, be able to leave my house, and maybe even take my kids to the park? All of these have not been possible so far. 

What do we know? That we still have so so so so many things to be thankful for. That we are blessed and even in this waiting and "season" that there is still good. God is good. All the time. Although I'd be lying if I said I haven't shed many tears, been very frustrated and had some rough days of thinking I'm never going to lead a "normal" life again.

It will get better...It just seems I have a very long road ahead of me. 

So, we would appreciate your prayers. Praying of complete healing & remission. Prayers of my colon calming down and making a full healing. 

I'll post more when I know more.

Thank you!

comparison:: overalls :)

Maternity Pics

Here are some of my favorites from when my sister took maternity pictures for us!! 

Ruby's first bath

When Ruby's cord finally fell off it was an entire family affair for her first bath and the boys were SO excited. She really enjoyed her bath and continues to do so!