Rain, rain go away!

We have had some major storms in West TN so far this weekend! It started with a 3am tornado warning. When our town was mentioned we loaded the kids up and drove down the road to my parents. We hunkered down in their basement with my parents, my 3 nephews who were spending the night and for a little, while my cousin, his wife and their little overnight guest. That is right, 13 of us in the basement for what seemed like an eternity. Funny thing that being up in the middle of the night with storms brewing, brings out the hyper in kiddos! I think Barry and my daddy stayed up above ready to wrestle the tornado than the kids in the basement!

Thankfully, we didn't have a tornado but we have had a ton of rain. I've heard it was 12 inches of rain! Barry's parents house nearly flooded when the culvert in front of the house backed up. They evacuated as the water got to the bottom of the truck and the driveway washed out. At some point the culvert washed out and the water receded from their house. There are tons of roads out and many churches canceled services for tomorrow. I even saw where one school will be out on Monday! I'm not telling the kids that though. No need to get their hopes up!

Asa did well getting up and out in the wee hours of the morning. He ended up sleeping until 1pm though. He has spent a few days this week doing nothing but sleeping. We ran out of the CoQ10 and I thought I'd hold off on ordering it to see if it was really helping him. I think after a week or so without it I can say it is worth the money!!

Asa didn't get sick again after last night in the car. I was really afraid we'd being looking at a whole night of sickness. Thankfully not! He did get sick again tonight but there was a just cause for that. I bought these chocolate soy drink boxes. I didn't really think he'd drink it but he drank nearly all 8oz. I should have stopped him since he has had trouble with all chocolate drinks we give him, even the chocolate version of the elemental formula he was on. Sure enough, before bed he got so sick. Again, the drain bags didn't work and I had to wrangle the tube while he was puking. Thankfully Barry was holding him so it was our 4 hands vs. Asa's one mouth. Shockingly enough, Asa won! He got him and Barry both covered! Then Asa got a nice long bath and was soooo happy! He loves water but the kitchen sink is getting a little small!

Asa has a new trick. I've been getting him to practice standing up by standing him on the changing table in front of me. At this height his head is at my shoulders and I can give him good support around his hips. I can also use the same position by sitting in the floor and having him standing in front of me. So yesterday Asa lays his head on my shoulder and proceeds to bite my shoulder! Well, it was more like a lick and maybe a gumming since he has such a weak bite. Since he isn't oral and doesn't mouth toys or food, I kinda felt privileged to be worthy of his bite! I acted all silly and said "oh, don't bite me" and other goofy things so that he'd laugh and try again. This was such a fun game to him and yet it was great therapy all in one! He was oral, he was standing and he was following my directions...or rather doing the exact opposite, which is totally age appropriate.

And just to prove it wasn't a one time game, we played again today only his bite was a bit stronger (he left a red mark!) and he was pulling my shirt away with his teeth! He thought this was great! He even bit Cade and Anna. Cade had to push it a little farther and got Asa to bite his ear and cheek but I discouraged that after I finished laughing at them! If no one was near him and we said "don't bite me" he'd open his mouth and stick his tongue out! I do realize we may have created a monster and he may bite anyone who picks him up so maybe I need to put a waring sign on him! I can't help it but I can't discourage his biting at this point. Now if becomes a Mike Tyson, we'll talk but right now just guard you shoulders!!

Think before you speak!

You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now! If you say your child has a skill and ask for it, he won't perform! The same holds true for the opposite as well! If you say something bad hasn't happened in a while, well, look out cause here it comes!

I just mentioned to someone that Asa hasn't had any gushers in a while. Don't get me wrong, he gets sick nearly everyday but there is usually warning. There is a pattern and a set of signs of what is to come. We can prepare ourselves. We can plug in a farrell bag and usually avoid a huge mess. Usually!

A gusher is different. Without any kind of warning Asa suddenly throws up. No rhyme or reason. You can imagine this is much worse than those daily pukes. We usually don't have enough time to get a bag. We might have enough time to get a cup. But now he thrashes around so much that he almost never hits the cup!

Asa has been doing so good and I just mentioned to some that he hadn't gotten so sick in a while. We were at the ball field tonight for practices (yep, plural, both Gracie and Cade had practice). It was nice out but windy and Asa doesn't do wind so for the first practice he stayed out in the van with Barry. We opened the back and folded the seats down so he could scoot around! I love a mini-van, it should be called a mini-home! We even set it up so Cade and Gracie could change in the car in privacy. And as long as only 5 of us ride, I can put Asa's chair in while it is still folded! Much easier on the back.

Anywho! For Cade's practice I thought I'd take him up to the field. It didn't seem too windy and wasn't crowded. Asa really liked it. He was tired and got a little crabby but not bad at all. The wind didn't bother him in the least! YAY!!!

Then on the way home, out of nowhere, BLAAAH! It wasn't pretty and he continued the whole way home! :( Poor guy! I hope it is one of those random things and not that he is getting sick. We've been so blessed this winter and spring to have very few issues!

Please continue to keep Cooper in your prayers. They are hoping and praying that tomorrow is the next step in the whole transplant process. When they transplanted the colon and small intestines they couldn't get him closed back up. They are hopeful he will be ready for surgery tomorrow to close him back up. I doubt any of us can imagine seeing your child sedated, in the ICU, with his new organs exposed (with dressings). Please lift this family up in prayer as this journey is just now beginning.

Let the shopping begin!

I found Asa a new toy yesterday. I know, I know, how often do I NOT find him a new toy, whether I buy it or not. It is just so much fun to watch him explore and sometimes the only way to do that is to buy it and bring it home!

Asa loves, loves, loves shopping carts. Most of the time he is in his chair and I just load it up. Sometimes I push his chair and pull a cart. Sometimes I let him sit in the cart, or I make him a bed in the seat part, but there is a cover and 2 pillows to keep him up. The point is he loves carts but rarely gets one! He'll reach out and try to grab other people's carts as we pass them in the aisle. And that is alot of action for a noddle guy!

I think it is the allure of the metal and the holes in the carts. I've looked for baskets or desk sets made like a cart but to no avail. So I was super excited when I was cutting through a toy aisle in Walmart yesterday and saw this cart!! And it was cheap. And it might help him walk if he'd hold onto the handle and push.

Asa was asleep in the cart (sleeping off a crash :( ) when I got it so he wasn't as excited as me. I'm not sure if the picture of a cart would have been too exciting either. So we get home and I start putting it together. The basket came in 5 pieces and Asa was super excited over these! He scooted over and held them up to his face.

As the basket was taking shape, he tried to scoot into it! He put his feet in it and bent his head over to take a closer look! He loved the wheels and spun them. I was so excited that this was gonna get my boy walking!

Unfortunately, by the time I got it put all together and stood him up for a trial walk, he had figured out my plan and wanted no part of it! He made that clear! Later on I got him to walk to a little bit but he is much happier just playing with the basket part! Oh, well, maybe he'll be more open to shopping next time!

Funny thing...Gracie was so excited too. I find tons of Asa's stuff in her room. I guess it is the fun of something new. She'll take it to her room but baby toys aren't very interesting so she abandons them!

I have a special prayer request. There is a little boy from Texas who was just diagnosed with Mito. His GI system is severely affected. Even before they had a diagnosis, he was on the transplant list to get a new small bowel and colon. Cooper got his call this week and had the transplant yesterday. Please pray for an uneventful recovery. It seems that mito doesn't like to play by the rules and things can go from good to bad on a dime! Please pray for this family as they are separated from the other children at home in Houston. This will be a long recovery and they need all the prayers they can get! His mom has a blog here and a little more info about the transplant.

Oh and didn't Anna do a good job as my photographer! The batteries kept running out and she'd had to swap them out. She is one awesome girl!