I know that some of you are waiting to hear what is going on with little Garrison. I wish I knew...the doctors are trying desperately to figure out what is wrong with our little guy. They have ruled out TTN(don't even ask me what that stands for), a common illness with babies born via c-section. His white blood count was elevated today more than yesterday so they are concentrating more on an infection. He had a spinal tap today to check for many things including meningitis. It is absolutely heart wrenching to watch your baby go through all of this. I am trying to heal myself and rest but am finding it hard to do. I just want to be in the NICU with him at all times. His O2 levels are MUCH better when someone is holding him. I think Franklin will probably spend most of the night in the NICU with him. I will try to get some rest in my room, but will probably find myself down there checking on him.

Please keep our family in your prayers as this is a stressful time. I had such an uneventful pregnancy, and I really thought that we would just have the baby and go home. I am desperately wanting to breastfeed and I can't feed him right now. It is breaking my heart. I know that God knows best and that we will all pull through this. Thank you for the prayers on our behalf that you have already said.

What ever happened to health CARE?

Sorry if I got anyone excited about the one contraction I had yesterday. Today's OB visit was a waste of time. My OB never even showed up. She kept calling to say that she was on the way, but never showed. So, I had to see the Nurse Practioner, who kept referring to Fischer as "she." Just proof that she knows nothing about me and I would prefer to see the person that is cutting me open next week!

My hip has really been bothering me so I ended up calling her back this afternoon and she just prescribed some crazy medication that knocks you out. Uh, can't really be knocked out with a three year old. Anyway, my mom is coming this Saturday to help...THANK GOODNESS! I can barely walk and feel so guilty about Fischer watching TV all day. Plus I wasn't sure how Franklin was going to survive 10 more days with all of my crazy mood swings and crying! Last night he just looked at me and I started bawling...lol...poor guy.

I think I just experienced a real live contraction...it was painful. :) I am sure it was just one of those Toni Braxton(I know there not really called that) things. Anyway, it was pretty exciting. Now I can tell my OB that I actually had a contraction...maybe she will check me tomorrow. Don't worry...I haven't really had any other signs of labor.

Funny Story: Well, it was funny to me anyway.

We went up to the hospital tonight to check things out and find out where the L & D rooms were, etc... When we got to the 9th floor, out popped my OB from behind the counter. Her eyes became as big as saucers and she looked like a deer in headlights! I'm pretty sure she was thinkin, "OH GREAT, now I am going to have do a c-section." I reassured her that I was not there to deliver! She seemed a little agitated to be at the hospital on a Saturday night...hey, she chose this profession :)

Today we went to an Award Ceremony for the Boy Scouts that displayed such heroism during the Little Sioux Tornado on June 11th. Sam was given the Spirit of the Eagle Award. I will have pictures soon!

Is it just me or does it seem strange that the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses has this sign in front of their building?


Just curious because they come by my house every Saturday.

Farmer's Market and Cosmic Bowling

Just a few pics from the last couple of days:

Yes, that would be my three year old tied with me...

Well, apparently this little guy is going to be able to beat up his older brother one day. He's an estimated 6lbs, 14 oz already! YIKES!

I had an appointment today and my OB was concerned that I was measuring too far ahead. So, she sent me right to ultrasound, which I was excited about! It was fun to see him, however he is so squished in there right now it was hard to tell what was what! One thing is for sure...he is still definitely a boy!

My c-section got moved back 4 days...trying to be positive...this gives me 4 more days to prepare! So at this rate we might have a 9lb baby on our hands...so when they hand him to me they will say, "Congratulations...here is your toddler!" Fischer was 5lbs 15 oz so this will definitely be a different experience!

Here is an ultrasound pic from today...it is hard to make out. You can see his nose and lips and his hand is over his eyes and forehead.

Sorry, I just keep finding really cute, old pics:

More Random Thoughts:

-Just sitting at the computer listening to my sweet baby sing "Jesus Loves Me" while laying in his bed. I guess he is having trouble going to sleep. Maybe it was the sugary sweet treat that he was awarded for being such a good boy at the grocery store. Going to the grocery store has now become such a hard task that I had Franklin go with me tonight. Wow, I got a 1.5 hour trip done in 40 minutes!! Living in a tri-level requires you to carry all of the groceries up the stairs, so it was really helpful to have him here to help!

-Funny thing that Fischer said the other day

1) We went to the hospital to visit an older woman from church who had a hip replacement. Fischer had never really been to a hospital to visit anyone before, but of course I had explained to him that I would be there to have the baby. So, he proceeded to ask her, "Are you going to have a baby?" It was too funny! On the way out of the room he yelled, "How do we get out of this place?" Apparently he shares the same sentiment for hospitals as his mother!

-I can't believe we are going to have a little one again...I am so excited!! Here are a couple of oldies:

In lieu of a new baby around the corner, I wanted to find something special for Fischer to do that was all about him! I found a class at a local Sports Academy called Lil Sluggers. They had a free trial class today, so I took him to see how he would do. HE LOVED IT! The best part was his nervous tick...the constant grabbing of the private area. Hey it's baseball, he's already got that part down! Several times the coach would ask him to get in the ready position(the position where you are ready to catch a ball) and Fischer would put both hands in front of his "jewels"...it was too funny!!

Here are a few proud mama pics:

Just some random thoughts that I have been thinking about over the past several days:

1) I can't believe it...my three year old is officially potty trained. It actually makes me a little sad that he is so independent, but I am thrilled to not buy size 5 diapers at practically $.50 each. That being said, I went to Target today and bought size 1 diapers for the baby...I had forgotten how incredibly adorable those size 1 diapers are! At least you get more diapers for your buck!

2) Whoa...my pregnancy hormones are out of control! I am SO easily irritated and annoyed by the most random things. Today I stepped in some gum and I couldn't stop ranting for 5 minutes about how nasty people are...why couldn't they just find a trash can?? Then I am in line at Target and there is one cashier and like 20 people in line behind me. When the manager comes over to open more lines, everyone disappears. Maybe it was my upbringing, but I always ask the person in front of me if they would like to go b/c they were in line first. So, I quietly waited as the person in front of me spent $300 and the cashier commented on how cute everything was that she was buying...grrr. Last night I watched a sad movie with Franklin and started crying about it this evening at 7:00pm...hormones...enough said.

3) I love seeing Fischer run around the house in his Superman undies...so cute.

4)Sometimes I wonder if my house will ever be organized and clean all at the same time. I feel like I spend the better part of my day picking up, cooking, picking up, scrubbing, doing dishes, laundry and picking up. I'm not sure who I am trying to measure up to, but it SEEMS as if everyone else has it together every day. Is anyone else just so exhausted at the end of the day that Mr. Potato Head and all of his parts will have to sit on the rug all night?

5)I am looking forward to the fall season and the month of September. There is nothing better than a cloudy fall day, staying inside, lighting a cinnamon candle and baking an apple crisp. Plus, who doesn't love going to the pumpkin patch?

6) I made this Chicken Pot Pie the other day. Hey, I was impressed with myself :)

I know what you are thinking...why are there pictures of baby clothes on my blog? I just couldn't resist showing you some of the new things that Garrison has received. Last night I volunteered at a consignment sale so I was able to shop while I was there. Most of the clothes I got have never even been used.

Kelly got Garrison the Big Brother/LIttle Brother outfits...aren't they adorable?

My mom bought the Little Turkey onesie at Carters for Thanksgiving and the Charm onesie was from the Gap...I couldn't resist.

When I first found out I was pregnant I was thinking that I wouldn't buy much for this little guy b/c Fischer had SO many clothes. As I get closer to holding him, I just can't resist buying him some new little clothes.

How funny is that? Stole this from www.uncomplicate-me.blogspot.com
The scary part is that it does actually look like Fischer a little bit!!!

It has been a busy couple of days. I've been helping my mom with her estate sale and we have done plenty of playing as well. We spent 7 hours at the waterpark yesterday! Fischer had an absolute blast! He went down the big water slide 7 times, and spent hours in the wave pool. He loved the wave pool! Let's just say that getting him to leave the water park was work!

We also visited the Petting Zoo at Domino Farms. Yes, I do find it strange that Domino Pizza's headquarters has a petting zoo. However it is really cute. Fischer had a great time feeding the ducks!

We made it to Michigan. Michigan has to be one of the prettiest states. As soon as you cross the state line from Indiana it's a different world. Tree lined highways, beautiful farms. Last night we took Fischer out to my parents farm. Besides the mosquitos, there's nothing like driving down a dirt road at dusk with thousands of lightning bugs nestled in the growing corn. Beyond the corn there are beautiful old farmhouses and bright red barns.

The kids ran around for hours and hours, and PaPa made them a tire swing. Mom has been growing vegetables in the garden. Even though I didn't plant them, there is something so gratifying about picking vegetables from a garden and then eating them.

Here are some pics from last night:

I am rare. I'm 30 years old and have four living grandparents. I would say that is rare, wouldn't you? I also knew both of my great grandmothers. All of this to say, that my paternal grandpa isn't doing very well. We always joke and say he has nine lives because 10 years ago we thought he was going to die from congestive heart failure. He is really struggling every day and has such poor oxygen levels that he is confused most of the time. He and Granny spent a month in MI with my parents. My mom told me that he had a moment of clarity and said, "How is Tracy?" My mom told him I was doing fine and that the baby was fine. He said, "I sure can't wait to meet that little fellow. He is going to be a live wire!"

Even if my grandpa doesn't make it to meet the little guy, our little one will always know what his great-grandpa thought of him :) I just hope he isn't right!

I just got done telling my hubby what horrible communication skills I have, so I am certain that what I am trying to say will not come out the way I want it to.

Today I went over to Sharons(Sam's mom) house for our Thursday Bible Study group. Of course we weren't planning on studying anything, just helping Sharon around the house if she needed anything. Turns out, she just needed to talk. What an amazing woman.

Here are just some of the comments that were spoken by this sweet, gentle spirit:

"I am not going through anything that God himself did not go through."

" I am accepting that this is God's will. So many miracles have come out of Sam's death."

"I am experiencing sorrow and pain, but I also have so much joy."

WHAT? Did this woman just lose her precious son? She is overjoyed with the miracles that have come about since Sam's passing. People in her family who have reconciled, people in her family that want to study the Bible, and complete strangers writing emails and explaining how Sam's sermon has changed their life. While we were talking, one of the girls told Sharon that her neice had uttered these precious words, " Sam lived his whole life for God, and I want to live that way too." Sharon cried and was then joyous that her neice had expressed an interest in God.

I wish that everyone could sit in a room with her for 2 hours and listen to her express her love for God in the way that I did today.

Sharon told me today when Sam was in utero his estimated due date was October 4th or 5th(which is our little guy's due date). He was born on June 16th though. That means he was born around 24-25 weeks. What a fighter he was. That was a pretty big miracle considering it was 14 years ago, when the technology is not as good as it is today. Sharon knew that his life would have purpose if he survived those three months in the NICU. After his recent sermon he wrote for LTC, she just knew that he was destined to be a preacher. Even with his slight speech impediment, he delivered a flawless sermon to the congregation a few months ago. As our minister Jim expressed a few weeks ago; Sam has preached to more people in the past few weeks than most preachers will ever be able to do. Preachers dream about reaching millions of people with their thoughts, but Sam did that very thing. All you have to do is type in Sam Thomsen Sermon on Google and you will be amazed.

Sam's life was a wonderful testament to his parents abilities to love and raise their child in a Christian home. Love is evident in their home, in their pictures, in their spoken words, and in the Bible laying on the kitchen table. I hope that Franklin and I can be the kind of parents that Sharon and Larry are.

Finally a break in the severe weather so we could enjoy our deck! It(the severe weather) should return tonight or tomorrow so thought I would post some pics of Fischer swimming. We made smores last night on the grill, and as you can see Fischer enjoyed painting with the chocolate. He has a little touch of OCD(not officially diagnosed, just by us) so whenever he chooses to be messy we encourage it!!

To say that we are tired of severe storms here in Nebraska would be a huge understatement. Last night was by far the scariest storm that I have ever experienced. As we sat huddled under couch cushions, branches were hitting our basement window and I was sure it was going to break. No windows broke, but I did post some pics of the aftermath.


Who knows where the orange cone came from???



We lost a few shingles

This would be my neighbors tramploine up in a tree

Our poor tree:(