Nothing Better Than Baby Laughter!

It's so hard to capture the good stuff on film.  I swear babies have a radar that detects all filming devices and cues them to shut off whatever behavior  it was that was attempting to be captured :)  Jason stood back a ways so as to try to go undetected by said baby radar.  It's still not his all out giggles, and the light and sound might not be the best, but I still double dog dare you to watch this and NOT crack a smile!  There's nothing better than baby laughter!  Josiah, 3mo old!

And here he is a month ago, at 2mo old, when he REALLY started responding to things with sweet gaping smiles.

Hurricane Preparedness

In case you've been hiding in a hole somewhere and don't know...we've got a Hurricane a comin' our way!  As responsible parents and adults, we've been spending our time dutifully preparing for said storm putting up a GIGANTIC swing set that we bought on craigslist!!!

 We've been looking for a long time knowing we wanted to get one for Ella for Bday/Christmas this year, and late fall seems to be the season where used swingsets drastically drop in price! We got this ginormous, 4 swing, monkey-bars across the top, dual slide, multi-level clubhouse, rugged thing for quite a deal!  Do you see my child up there in the clubhouse?  She is dwarfed by this baby.  (For all of friends that know the condition of our little metal swingset...your children will no longer put their lives in jeopardy when swinging at our house :)  YEARS and YEARS of fun to come!



Here she is christening the slide...

But never fear...right after we put this all together we totally started preparing for the storm went to an rockin' birthday party for one of Ella's new friends from preschool and had an awesome time! 

But really, don't fret...after we put the kiddos to bed we definitely buckled down and took stock of what we needed for the incoming storm ran out and got a redbox and had a little date night in.

So today, Sunday, the storm is supposed to roll into town late night or tomorrow morning and we really did get ready.  Yard is free from anything that could fly away like dorothy and toto.  Wood racks are chock full.  5 gallon buckets sit in tub filled to the brim with water.  Non-perishables are stocked up.  Propane has been bought.  We're good on batteries.  Candles, lighters, headlamps and flashlights sit at the ready.  We're ready.  But please be kind to us Miss Sandy :)  Praying for all those in her path.  Stay safe all!



Three Months Old

Look who's sweet boy is 3 months old today!

He cooperated nicely for a photo shoot and I actually was able to do it when there was some great natural light in the house.  I LOVE these pictures!

Yes, he is this happy, this cute and this pudgy in person.

I call him my "squidgy" (not really sure where that came from).
This outfit he's wearing is a 6 month outfit!

I just can't help but smile every time I look at him. And I simply want to SQUEEZE him all the time!

He is doing NOTHING of physical noteworthiness... like grabbing toys, or lifting his head up.

He is just happy existing and it makes me grin.  This boy is mello jello.

He sleeps. He goes to sleep around 9ish and usually sleeps 6-8 hours, eats, goes right back out and sleeps another 4 or 5. I can handle that.

When he is tired, he gives me belly laughs when I tickly him.

He loves to lay under his activity mat and look at himself in his mirror and kick his feet.

He eats, and eats, and eats.

He smiles, and smiles, and smiles.

Here are some for you to enjoy!

This picture completely embodies our Josiah.

Sweet.  Content.  Happy.  Squishy.









This one I just added for the belly factor.
Seriously.  Look at that bomb belly.  Seriously.
Did I mention the boy likes to eat.

We are so blessed.

This is not a post I wanted to write.  So I think I've been avoiding it.

This past Saturday Baby Jack lost his battle here on earth.  He is with Jesus now.  Thank-you for your prayers.  Please continue to lift his parents, Josh and Katie up.  I cannot even imagine this kind of pain and grief.  I'll leave you with some of their words....

"Our little baby Jack went to be with Jesus on Saturday afternoon. He passed peacefully in our arms after another emerg
ency surgery revealed that the condition of his little belly was not survivable... the surgeons found that the Sepsis and subsequent oxygen deprivation had ravaged his little body more severely than we had previously known."


"We spent every minute we could with Jack during this past week, and even with grim prognoses, Jack continued to flood that ICU with joy and peace with his beautiful little face. The doctors and nurses all became very attached to our little love. God's goodness and love is beautifully embodied in innocent little babies."

"The grief we feel is overwhelming at times, but we are comforted to know that we will be reunited with our little Baby Jack in heaven. "

"Friends, this time of trial has really impressed upon Katie and I the frailty of this life and the importance of our dear family. Spend as much time as possible with those you love. We were able to release little Jack to the Lord without regrets, because we loved him with everything we had for those few short months."

They are ever so grateful for the prayers and support and donations of leave.  They ask that you continue to pray for them as their mourning and grief is only just beginning.  They ask that you pray for all the families and children in the NICU. 

You can honor Jack's life and help some sort of good to come out of this situation by donating or volunteering at your local Ronald McDonald House, which housed Josh and Katie through this ordeal and is a home away from home for so many families with gravely ill children.  Jack received a lot of blood transfusions during this hospital stays.  Think of all the people and babies you can help by donating blood...so simple, but so big.

Prayer Warriors Needed!

Your prayers are SO VERY needed!

Praises for Baby Jack!
He is not in septic shock anymore.
He is off BP medications.
He is still on a ventilator but taking a few breaths on his own from time to time.
With help from heavy meds his is slowly shedding the 6lbs of excess fluid he'd retained.
He was wiggling some, opening his eyes some and his pupils were responsive to light.
There was one instance where he gave a quick "goo" and smile at his mama!


The Latest Updates
Baby Jack is in a coma.
He is not "waking" from sedation as quickly as they would want him to be.
This morning they found that his feeding tube is leaking formula into his abdomen. (This may mean another surgery.)
His EEG showed less brain activity than they had hoped for.

Please Pray
For a full and miraculous healing of this sweet baby boy.
For strength and comfort for his parents who are right now feeling "at the end of themselves".

Other Concrete Ways to Help
Donate Leave to Josh Lewis if you work at the Shipyard. 
Give Blood!
Volunteer at, financially donate to, make a meal or take supplies to your local Ronald McDonald House.

Baby Jack Update

* I updated my last post with some more specific and accurate details once I got them from Jason.

Jack's parents, Josh and Katie, have created a CaringBridge site for him.  Now you can get updates first hand and know how to pray for him more specifically. 

HERE is the link.

If the link doesn't work, go to www.caringbridge.org and their site name is jacklewis1.

They also ask  that as you pray for them and for Jack, that you would remember all the families and babies in the NICU.  There are so many babies and families there, facing challenges just as big if not bigger!

If you don't want to click over, I'll recap for you here:
Yesterday they were able to get him off "pressers"...I'm assuming this is some med.  And he had not had a seizure in 24 hours.  So those are the good things!

Today they are going to give him lots of meds to try to get his body to release all the fluid it's holding.  They are going to give him lots of nutrition by IV and try to work toward getting his arterial line out because the arm it is in is turning purple.

They are not out of the woods with the sepsis.  They do not know how well his organs will be functioning after the infection clears.  He suffered extended seizures and his organs were in shock for days.  They do not know how much oxygenated blood made it to his organs and brain.

Please Pray:
That the fluid in his body would be able to be released.
That they can work toward getting him off some of the meds and relying less on the ventilator.
That his body would fight off the sepsis (massive infection)
That his organs and brain would be functioning fully.
For a complete recovery.

Again, if you or your spouse work at the shipyard please consider donating leave to Josh Lewis.  Any hours will help!

Pray For Baby Jack

This morning I sat on the floor, listening to and watching my beautiful, healthy baby boy coo and smile as he happily played on his activity mat.  And I prayed...hard... because a contrast weighs down heavy on my heart and mind.  You see, this very same morning, the life of our friend's baby, Jack, hangs in the balance.

Jack is just a little older than Josiah.  We have been praying for him since before he was born.  Their road has been a long one.  Her pregnancy was difficult...problems with the placenta, and blood pressure...lots of tests and bed rest.  Jack was born prematurely.  He has been in and out of the hospital ever since.  He has had multiple procedures.

The biggest problems they have been trying to solve are the fact that he has trouble eating and keeping food down and he has trouble breathing...ocassionally just stopping breathing.  How scary is that!?  Mommas and daddies out there, just imagine your child having problems with those two most basic functions essential to life! 

This weekend, the situation went from scary and trying to horrid and life threatening.  He was most recently hospitalized after a throat surgery hoping to improve his breathing.  He had been hospitalized for over a week and things were looking up.  His breathing was improving.  But because he had been on a respirator for so long he was having more trouble eating.  He was regurgitating 50-90% of what he did eat.  Finally they were set to be released from the hospital Sunday.  But he needed a feeding tube inserted through his abdomen in order to return home.  During this routine procedure Friday night the doctor punctured his small intestine.  His gut became badly contaminated and massively infected.  His poor little belly swelled up to the size of a basketball.  It is my understanding that he was in septic shock and his organs were starting to shut down.  His kidneys especially having a hard time functioning and filtering the way they are supposed to.  They figured out what had happened and repaired the hole in emergency surgery Saturday morning.  It is a miracle that he did not die Friday night.   

He is currently on life support in the form of ventilation, cardiac medication and heavy antibiotics.  And willl likely be in this condition for the next week.  It seems to be just a waiting game.  Waiting to see if his little body will fight off this massive infection and begin to return to health.  I beg of you to pray for Baby Jack and for his family.  They are strong believers in the Lord and attribute how well they are holding up to all the prayers and support so please keep them coming!  They are physically being cared for by being able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House.  And I beg you to spread the word.  

More tangibly, if you are in this area and you or your spouse work at the Shipyard, you can help by donating some of your annual leave to this daddy.  Over the course of his son's short life, he's used up all of his leave and has gone weeks into the red.  Would you please donate what you can?  Any hours will help!  Thank-you all in advance!  I will update as I know more!