A New Era.

Last night, Thursday, June 13, marks the beginning of a new era for the Jones' household.

Lima Bean slept in her very own "big girl" bed!

We had a pretty rough start... a river of tears, some escaping, lots of hugging, and maybe even a few loving spankings. After a long, hard fight, Lima Bean fell asleep and successfully slept through the night.

This morning Lima Bean woke up refreshed with two proud parents. :)

And just a side note... the last two mornings Lima Bean climbed out of her crib. One time successfully, but one time with a loud thud and tears. At that point, we didn't want to risk any serious injuries, so a big girl bed it was!

In light of her magnificent accomplishment, we are taking a trip to the toy store for her to pick out a special toy. Hopefully the toy will give her a boost to make tonight a smoother transition. :)

Abiding in the Word.

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

Habakkuk 2:14

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. It's times like that when I miss home. I wish we could have celebrated together. Happy Birthday Mama!

This was the day Firecracker turned one month old. Time sure does fly!

My loves. Lima Bean and Daddy basking in the sun.

Just Another Day...

Good News!

We got word today that Firecracker can officially come off of the oxygen! We are praising the Lord for being the Great Healer and His goodness towards us.

Yay Firecracker!

Life.

FRIENDS! Hi. :)

Well we're still alive. I know I write that for the second time, but I just can't seem to get things all together on our end. I have hope, however, that I will soon!

I certainly don't want to complain that life is hard. We are certainly blessed beyond measure with a very comfortable, happy life, and I know that there are many others that are suffering from various trials even as I write this. So I'm not going to say, "boo hoo, woe is me." I will say, however, in regards to our current situation right now... It is a successful day if I eat and shower. Haha!

Maybe in four years I'll say something different, but right now, I don't see how families with more than two children get through the day! Between Lima Bean's toddler antics and Firecracker's need to eat all the time, I find myself occupied all day. Again, this is not a complaint... it's just the truth. Real life in the Jones' right now is a lot of poopy diapers, toddler meltdowns, and "no no no's".

But I'm still rejoicing in the God who gives strength to the weary!

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

I have been taking a lot of photos. Over the next week, I am going to update you all on life by way of the camera.  So be on the lookout for photo overload.

As for now, in response to what I've been asked the most, Firecracker (Jane) is doing very well! From my point of view, she is a healthy, rapidly plumping baby. Last Thursday, she had an overnight pulse ox sleep study. We had to keep a pulse oximeter hooked to her foot starting Thursday evening (around 6 p.m.) to monitor her throughout the night without oxygen. Originally I thought the study just went through the night ("sleep" study, right?), but we were instructed to leave the monitor on her until our home oxygen delivery company came to pick up the machine Friday afternoon. We are now waiting for the pulmonologist to read the results and let us know what she thinks... can she come off of the oxygen now? Does she need to go to the hospital for an overnight sleep study to test for conditions like sleep apnea? Obviously we are praying for complete healing with a report that she needs NO MORE OXYGEN!

Right now, because her pulse ox is always 97% or above when I monitor her, I have been leaving her off of the oxygen almost all of the time. She appears to be thriving and content without the oxygen, so as long as her numbers are high, I have no problem letting her go cannula free.

The other question I've been asked frequently is "how's Andrew and the store?" Andrew is doing very well! He is working a lot, which we expected would be the case. Last week he put in a little over 100 hours. Whew! Almost everyday last week, he was gone before I woke up and came home after I was asleep. Poor fella.  We are praying that extreme schedule won't last much longer as he gets his team and leaders trained. So far the store numbers (profit) are right where they were projected to be. That's encouraging! If you think to pray for him, please pray for energy (and a chance to get more sleep?), wisdom in managing/training his team (especially his leaders), and increased sales.

Up next on the blog, look for Firecracker's birth story. It won't take long to tell as there wasn't much to it. ;)

Blessings to you all!

Lima Bean loving on Firecracker

Abiding in the Word on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day to those who have impacted my mothering in so many ways - my mother, mother-in-law, sisters, and friends. Thank you for your love, support, and Godly examples. What a blessing it is to be a mother. I am doubly blessed on this day, and I praise the Lord for His great gift of motherhood.

To my mother: I thank the Lord for you. You have been the most influential woman in my life, my best friend, and a phenomenal mother. I love you today and forever!

Now let's get back to "Abiding in the Word," shall we? It's time for a little more normalcy in my life. :)

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days."

Micah 5:2

We're Alive!

And we're a family of FOUR living in our very first home that we OWN!!

A lot has happened in the last two weeks for the Jones family. At 3 a.m. on Thursday, April 18, Jane Riley (Firecracker) Jones decided she would make her presence known to the world. I will share the full birth story soon, but for now just know that we made it to the hospital in the nick of time. Firecracker continues to live up to her name. Within 15 minutes of us parking in the hospital parking lot and making it up to the maternity ward, Firecracker had arrived! It was slightly chaotic, but she is here and we are thrilled.

The funny thing is the next day, Friday, April 19, we were scheduled to close on the purchase of our first home. Firecracker and I ended up spending the night alone in the hospital, so Andrew could head back to the apartment to tend to the dogs and be ready for closing bright and early Friday morning.

Closing went well for Andrew, and Friday afternoon he and Lima Bean picked Firecracker and me up from the hospital as a family of four. We were happy.

Then came the chaos. The weekend after Firecracker was born, we were able to rest and relax while waiting to get the keys to our new home Sunday afternoon. Once we got the keys, life got a little crazy. In the midst of trying to move out of our apartment and in to the home, I took Firecracker to her first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, April 23. I had a couple of concerns going in to the appointment (she was born with a clogged tear duct in her right eye which was getting larger and red and her breathing seemed very congested), but didn't expect it to be too serious. Unfortunately, when we arrived to the doctor's office, they sent us immediately to the ER for a chest X-ray and to have her eye checked for a possible infection.

The X-ray came back clear, but she still had to be admitted to the pediatric floor because she was placed on oxygen. Once on the pediatric floor, the doctor confirmed that her eye needed to be probed by an ophthalmologist in order to empty the clogged tear duct of the infection. She had to get an IV with antibiotics running through it, along with the 24-hr oxygen supply. After lots and lots of crying (for both Firecracker and me), the infected tear duct was probed and drained successfully.

Firecracker and I spent the next four days in the hospital while Andrew, his mom, and his cousin frantically tried to pack up and move all of our stuff from the apartment (and empty a Pod that we had delivered with more of our junk stuff). And on top of all of this, Lima Bean decided she would come down with a very severe cold and make it almost unbearable to be around her. Poor MyTy had her hands full with a very fretful 19-month-old. :(

Needless to say we were all very weary (and still weary, for that matter) - both physically and emotionally. Not to feel sorry for myself, but I didn't even have a chance to process the fact that I had just delivered a baby. All of a sudden our perspectives changed to getting sweet baby Firecracker and Lima Bean well and moving in to our home.

Life has been so incredibly crazy for us. I guess the saying is true, "when it rains, it pours!"

Throughout the last two weeks, I have reminded myself over and over that the Lord's mercies are new every morning. To be perfectly honest, that has been the only thing keeping me remotely sane. It is so neat to see how the Lord provides and sustains in times of need. What a treasure it is to be loved by a God who does nothing to hurt us or set us back, but ultimately to grow us in our faith and our dependence on Him. He is our sustainer. He is our healer. He is our provider and the giver of all good things. In Him alone can we turn for our strength. What a blessing.

"The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad." Psalm 123:6

Baby Firecracker and her proud daddy

Firecracker and her tired mama

You can notice the clogged tear duct pretty well in this picture (in the corner of her right eye).

Lime Bean had a blast with some new friends of ours from church while we were in the hospital.

Friday morning after Andrew finished signing the papers to our new home!

Lima Bean LOVES Firecracker. Lots and lots of kisses have been shared.

My girls.

In the ER right after we arrived last Tuesday.

Post IV and eye probing.

Firecracker's poor eye swollen shut from the procedure.

Day 2 - looking much better!

Day 3 - swelling continuing to go down.

Wide eyed in the middle of the night.

Daddy, who was juggling moving AND hiring 60+ team members for the new store, stopped in for a visit.

Big smiles from Firecracker because we just got word that we were going home!

At home with an obnoxious oxygen tank that we have to wheel around. Firecracker will be on oxygen for the next 2-4 weeks.

Resting in the comforts of our new home. Sweet Firecracker so peaceful as she sleeps.

Firecracker loves to smile!

The view from my new kitchen window. I could get used to this. :)

Please continue to pray for healing of Firecracker's eye (there's a chance the duct could seal back and she would have to have the probing procedure done again) and that her lungs will get strong enough that she can be off of the oxygen (we aren't totally certain why she needs the oxygen - possible that she got Lima Bean's cold and her congestion is causing the difficulty breathing or it's simply because she was hardly born full term and her lungs need a little assistance). 

Happy May to all!