1st Field Trip

Will is being moved to the Children's Hospital here in town because he needs a shunt put in soon. His latest head ultrasound came back worse so they consulted a neuro surgeon who wanted him moved to his hospital to do the surgery. We're not sure if he'll remain there but we'll see.

We took this movie clip while preparing Will for his first field trip.

One Month

Will doesn't actually turn one month until tomorrow. But holy cow! ONE MONTH!! There were days I wondered if we'd get this far.

Will is doing "OK." That's what one of our Dr's told us. After he was born they expected to finding bleeding in his head and didn't. We really thought we were past that concern but last weekend after Will pulled out his breathing tube they did a head ultrasound and found a level 3 bleed (they grade them from level 1-4, 4 being the worst). This now adds all kinds of concerns to our growing list. We're watching his head for swelling and will cross that bridge when/if we get there.

Our other main concern are his kidneys. He's been on a crazy cycle where they'll work and then they'll stop and then they'll pick up again. During the non-working time he retains fluid (edema) and gets all puffy. It's so sad to see him that way. They think he weighs a little over a pound now but with all the water weight about 2 lbs. (Don't think I don't try to encourage him to go, I often stand over him saying "think about waterfalls Will, tinkle, tinkle, running water, rivers, etc." I've also threatened to put his hand in warm water. I think it works pretty well.) The Dr's and nurses have been working with the meds to find what helps him. Today he is going pretty well so we pray that it'll continue. (Who knew you could get so excited about someone going to the bathroom?)


This was taken last night, Feb. 28. He's gone a lot but still needs to keep going!


This is one of his "not going" days, Feb. 22

We are still taking it one day at a time and loving every minute we get to be with him. He is such a fighter and we know that his faith is amazingly strong. Thank you to all those who are praying for him and please know that your prayers are being answered; he's a month old!!!

Blankets

Will is being very well taken care of. Every 12 hours he gets a new nurse. Of course there are ones we love and ones we love less. There are two in particular that we always hope for on the day shift; they are wonderful! They know a lot, have had a lot of experience taking care of pre-preemies (my term, not theirs), call us by our first names instead of "mom and dad," and don't mind all my (dumb and not-so-dumb) questions. They just help me feel like I know what's going on and want me to be apart of it all. These two nurses always let me change his diaper if I'm there and allow me to hold his hands without giving me the evil eye (yes, some of the nurses don't want me to touch him). Last week they both told me that I should bring in some things to decorate his area (make more homey). They suggested I bring in rosary beads or a cross or prayer cards. They also mentioned that I could bring in some receiving blankets to be placed under him and around his little bed. Being the Home Ec. teacher that I am I immediately got excited about making him some blankets. We have held off getting/making anything for his nursery (plus I was on bed rest before he came so we haven't had the time) so I haven't made him anything. I quickly rushed to JoAnns and picked out a green striped, a blue striped, dinosaur, and baseball/bat fabric. Before I went on bed rest I worked at a quilt store and when I stopped by the other day she gave me some polka dot and minky fabric. Using all these I make 4 blankets. I love seeing him on them and just know he loves it too. It amazed me that making these pretty simple blankets really helped me feel more like a mother, that's corny but true. I haven't been able to hold him yet so this is my way of holding him!



PS- the little tan and red hat in the picture was made by my talented knitter of a sister Michelle. It's the smallest one she's made and it's still huge. Thanks Michelle!

Our Little Miracle

As previously mentioned we were pregnant with a little boy, due June 1oth. I have struggled in the past keeping pregnant and this time was no different. I have a fabulous Dr. who because of past problems watched me like a hawk (ultrasounds weekly, etc). At around 16 weeks, Dec. 22ish, I started having contractions. Without going into too many details lets just say I have an incompetent cervix so they went in and sewed it closed and put me on strict bed rest at home, with bathroom privileges. Bed rest is hard. Everyone thinks it'd be so nice just to lay around all day, and it is for about 2 days. It's hard not being able to get up and grab a snack or answer your front door. Anth was amazing! He did sooo much for me! My ward was amazing! They brought over meals and so many came to visit, the highlight of my days. I was on bed rest at home for a month. On Jan. 20th I had a Dr. apt and was admitted into the hospital because my cervix was down to .3 cm. I was on even stricter bed rest, with no bathroom privileges (I'm amazed at the things we take for granted). The plan was for me to be in the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy, 4.5 months! Again Anth and the ward were wonderful in visiting and doing so much to make my time less awful than it was. Throughout my hospital stay they had me on all kinds of meds to help keep this little guy in. About a week into it my water broke but sealed over. On Feb. 2nd, 21 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy, my body had had enough and at 5:08 pm William Anthony Vance was born. He weighed 14.4 oz and was 10.5 in long. Previously to all this the Dr.'s (specialist and neonatal) had talked to us about the chances of babies surviving if born earlier than 23-24 weeks. The survival stats were not good and of those that did survive had severe disabilities. When Will was born Anth was asked if we wanted them to work on him, knowing his less than 1% chance of survival, he said yes.

It's now been two weeks. We still have our little boy! It's definitely been a roller coaster! He's in the NICU but doing amazing well considering how underdeveloped he is. I can't begin to list all the miracles we've been blessed with! But to name a few, his brain has no extra fluid or bleeding, his heart is working great, he needs minimal oxygen (about 30%), his lungs are doing well, etc. In the last two days he has opened his eyes, it's incredible!!! He moves all the time which reminds me of how much he moved when he was inside me. He has so many facial expressions and because of the tubes down his throat we can't hear him cry but we can see it on his face, it breaks my heart. His biggest concern is a yeast infection he's fighting in his lungs. It's about the most aggressive infection he could have gotten but he's a fighter!

We don't know what the outcome of this experience will be but we've felt an amazing peace from the very beginning. We can't say how grateful we are for the Atonement! He's our little boy and will be forever! We've felt the numerous prayers in our behave and are humbled at all the support from family and friends. Thank you to all who have prayed for our little boy, they have sure helped him! Please continue to pray for his development and strength to fight this infection. My goal is to update this blog regularly, but know it my not happen as often as you or I would like :)

Wow, we're behind.......

Well, for the second straight week I am posting. I am turning over a new leaf. I have been cleaning, cooking, working, and now posting on our blog. (more will be explained later) As you can tell many holidays have come and gone and we have not posted a word about them or who we were with.

First things first....

We bought a car. We flew up to Utah about a week and a half before Thanksgiving and picked up our new 2008 Hyundai Sonata and yes we love it. We were planning on waiting until we had a baby before we bought one but due to the over zealous men in Corpus Christi we decided we needed one sooner. One day Lynette was walking to work and a man pulled along side her and asked her if she wanted a ride. She declined and he again insisted on giving her a ride, and again she declined. I don't know about you but I was pleased to hear she was alright. And after buying the new, I drive the old one and Lynette drives the new one. :) Could you imagine anything different?

Second......

We had an awesome Thanksgiving with the Bills here in Corpus Christi. The first Thanksgiving I had with the Weston's came when Lynette and I were dating. At that time, I convinced some of Lynette's family that we should have ourselves a football game while waiting for the food. As we began to explain the game and pick teams it dawned on me that Lynette and family had not grown up playing football in the backyard as often as it was played at my house growing up. (Thanks Rachel for some good times.) Well, to get back to this Thanksgiving my ward Elders quorum was hosting a Turkey Bowl. If you don't know what these are, a Turkey Bowl is where 20 and 30 somethings get to show-off and try to impress everyone else with their amazing football skills. There are always a few that are a little too wound up about this game and are decked out in all of their get-up. Shawn and I got talking about the game and I thought it would be a blast to have him there with my ward. He didn't seem to thrilled to play so we let him off this year in hopes he will play next year. His kids, on the other hand, did play and had a blast. Shawn, Bekah, and Lynette came, watched, and cheered on the kids as Isaac, Sadie, and Phebe played with all the young kids. (If you haven't had the chance to see their football skills, I suggest you play catch with them sometimes. ) Well to make a long story short, I get Isaac, Sadie, and Phebe on my side the next time we play with the Weston's.

We had a wonderful dinner in our small apartment. Bekah expanded our view of Thanksgiving by introducing Egg Rolls, place settings, and place markings made by the kids. I introduced a tradition of my own by making turkeys out of pipe cleaners and netting being filled with nuts and M&M's. It was a wonderful dinner and afterward we all played a rousing game of Fat Dog. Thanks for the great times Bills Family.

Don't be jealous of the 65 - 75 deg weather for Thanksgiving.

Everyone making Crafts and no we didn't wear the hats. (Thanks Shawn.)

The amazing table! (Thanks Rebekah and kids for all the decor.)

My family tradition. Miniature candy turkeys for everyone.

Rebekah and Lynette showing off their bubble blowing skills at the Beach.

Third.....

As was mentioned in the previous post, my nephew died. I will not say anymore as I have already posted about it.

Fourth.....

We're pregnant! We are currently 16 weeks along and loving the fact that we have a little one on the way. It has been hard as Lynette has been sick but we are getting through alright.

Fifth.....

We just had Christmas here at home. We love family and had planned to visit the Bills Family for Christmas and the New Year. Unfortunately, Lynette was not feeling well enough to go and our plans changed. (Hence the reason why I am doing so much around the house.) We had a wonderful time, but to our surprise we each had one gift sent to the Bills home. Lynette got me a Nerf gun that I was so wanting. Every time we go to a store and see them I tell Lynette that we should get two for us but she always said no. Apparently she gave in. I gave in to her request too and got her a grain mill. It was a wonderful Christmas and we enjoyed it so much. Thanks to everyone for helping make it so wonderful.

Well, that about sums up the past few months of our lives. Hopefully we can post more frequently but I am not guaranteeing anything.

My Nephew

I thought I would take some time today and post about by nephew. Many of you may know that I had a nephew who was battling a rare brain tumor called a Chordoma Tumor. In May of this year he was diagnosed and past away a few days after Thanksgiving. It was a very tender time as I began to think about what my brother may be feeling and thinking and realizing there is no possible way for me to comprehend what his family is/was going through. I love my nephew very much and it was so fun to be an outsider watching him grow up. Before making our trek to south Texas, Lynette and I found a second home with my brother Andrew and his wife, Jaime. We taught them the Weston tradition of Rook and Canasta card games and other fun games and spent many an evening with them. We watched their kids and played games, watched movies, read stories and many other things. As a result we became close to them and loved them. I am sad to see that Jared has passed away but I know that he is better and healthy. Unfortunately, for him to be happy where he is, his family is sad to have him gone. I thought I would attach the link to their story, I can only share it as an outsider and feel it should be shared from their point of view. Here is the link to their blog for those who would like to read it; jaredvance.blogspot.com. I thought I would attach a couple of my favorite pictures of my superhero of a nephew, Jared. The bottom shows Jared in the most touching picture (to me). There is something heavenly about seeing him resting with so much white around him.


I love my brother so much and am so sad to see him lose his son, but I know he has a testimony of the Gospel and will be stronger for it.

We love and we'll miss you Jared!

Fall Festivities

CC doesn't get too fall-y but that didn't stop a few of us from doing all the Fall-ish activities. We carved pumpkins and coated apples with caramel and other goodies.



For the week of Halloween I went up to AR to take care of the Bills kids. The plan was for Anth to come up the after work on Thursday but he surprised me by taking off work on Thursday and getting there early. It was a great surprise! We had a lot of fun with the kids, going to their school parties, community festival, the Battlefield, and trick-or-treating. We had a great time - thanks Bills!!!

The Nurse

The Astronaut

Wonder Women

The Monkey

The Washed-Up Football Player

Battlefield 1

Battlefield 2