And it begins...

After a week of tests, evaluations and discussions the conclusion is to implant Hannah's left ear. This wasn't a huge shock to us and we are thankful everyone involved is basically on the same page, but the unknown is still scary. Especially having the surgery 1.5 hrs from home and everything that entails. 

We are taking everything one step at a time. First of all insurance has to approve the surgery, that can take 3-6 weeks. After it is approved we have to get on the surgery schedule. Best case scenario is 8 weeks, worst case is December. 😁

The reason we are starting with just one ear is because Hannah's left ear has always been her worst and since she has other issues, not just hearing loss, the doctor wants to make sure this is a mechanical issue and not a neurological one. So, doing one ear, then giving Hannah some time to show us what she can hear and do will give us information for a possible right ear implant in the future. 

So Keith and I have been reading up on manufacturers and think we have landed on one (it's a big decision choosing something that will go in your girl's head!)

Of course we want to commit this whole process to the Lord. We do think that He is leading us in this direction but would you pray for a few other things?

Please pray insurance approval would come quickly so that the appointment will be scheduled soon. 

Pray that the surgery would happen at just the right time for everyone involved. (Our family, family that may come in to help out, the doctor, etc). 

Please pray that this surgery will help Hannah hear better and begin to speak. 

There are many other specific requests that will come as the process unfolds and I'll share them with you then. 

Thanks for walking through this with us. It is a huge decision that can make a life-changing difference. 

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

4 weeks in

Suzi is already 4 weeks old. Actually, by this point she's almost 5. Life is flying by and she's fitting in pretty nicely. Of course there is less sleep and most days I'm spinning around from one need to the next, but I know this is a season and one day I won't be this busy with my kiddos. 

                     4 weeks old!

With the extreme heat that's covering the country we haven't been able to get outside like I'd hoped we would, but we are coping. The kids get bored and harass each other most days, but school starts in 2 weeks and I know Hannah (and I) will miss Eli when he's not here everyday. 

            

This week and next we are starting the cochlear implant process. Hannah and Keith went to Cincinnati for speech and aural evaluations on Wednesday and Thursday she had an MRI in Louisville. Next week we'll go back to Cincinnati and meet the surgeon and get his take on Hannah. From there we will know how to proceed. 

I'm hopeful that she needs CI's so that her speech and hearing will improve. Even though I'm not excited about the surgery and recovery, It should greatly improve her communication. At this point we still don't know exactly what she can hear and her speech is limited. Also, when we try to discipline her we wonder if she can't understand us or if she's just 2 and not listening because she doesn't want to. So many things to figure out with a girl like Hannah. ☺️

Keith was able to take off a few days this week to help with Hannah's appointments so we also threw in a little fun and headed to the Newport aquarium. It was so much fun. We saw sharks, walked under and above them and even found Dory-haha! (Eli was most excited about her). It was a fun-filled day and I think everyone had a good time. 

                         Dory!!!

                Can you find Suzi?

So, life as a family of 5 is constant and definitely busier, but I wouldn't change it. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

Suzanne Faith

Baby Suzi arrived at 2:56pm, June 27, 2016. 

At 7 lbs 1oz she's my biggest baby and has already filled our house with lots of joy. 

We named her Suzanne after her two grandmother's middle names. My mom's name is Sue and Keith's mom is Anne. 

So far she's taken her place in the family like a champ. Having to deal with two older siblings wanting all the attention and sharing a room with Mom & Dad. 

Not only was she the largest (😉), she's also my only child who didn't come on her own. So, I was induced which was better than expected, but still very long and drawn out. 

The day following her delivery I was able to spend most of the day with only her which was a treat. 

The kids came by in the morning to meet her. 

                 Proud big brother!

And then Daddy took them to the zoo so I could rest and he could spend time with them. 

We are slowly adjusting to our new life of 5. I say slowly because I'm still recovering, Keith's been off and my mom is here. Reality hasn't really set in. 

Here are a few more pictures of the big sibs initating Suzi into the family. 

Hannah is completely uninterested 😊

Some treasures from this week:

*Keith and I spending Monday together. (Even though it was awaiting labor & labor) we don't get many days together just the 2 of us anymore. 

*How excited Eli is being a big brother. He's doing such a good job playing with her and distracting her when she cries. 

*How big Hannah looks now that we have a newborn again. I feel like she's doubled in size over the last week!

*sweet, newborn snuggles. I know Suzi's only 5 days old but she really is sweet. 

*How much the Lord has been with us this week. From calming my fears, to Suzi checking out medically and even having time to nap a little this week. The Lord has been so good to us!

We know the transition is just beginning but we are overjoyed with Suzi and thankful the Lord decided to place her in our family. 

What's been happening around here...

So as we wait for baby #3 to make her appearance we are thrilled to share what Hannah's been up to lately...

We are amazed and so grateful that the walking has started. She is such a hard worker and has been attempting this for what seems like forever. 

This is something we've been praying for over the last 6ish months and trusting the Lord would help her walk before the baby comes. I have to admit I wasn't sure it would happen, but again, so grateful that the Lord sees us and knows what we need. 

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

Deuteronomy 7:9

Summertime

As we wait out these last few weeks before baby we are starting the summer off right. 

First of all Mawmaw and Poppy came for Memorial Day and we went strawberry picking. 

I think Eli picked 2, ate them, and immediately went and sat down but it was fun. 

Hannah found her spot too. 

With the nice weather, we also went to the zoo. It's so nice to have one in our city!

Also, Eli started swim class. This is something he and Keith are doing one evening a week with an instructor at our neighborhood pool. I think he loves it and it gives him some pool time. 

Every summer we have a block party. There are lots of "big kids" that live around us so many parents pitch in for an inflatable water slide. Last year Eli went down once and that was it. This year he couldn't get enough of it. 

It was an added bonus that, Megan, a sweet neighbor, volunteered to go with him almost every time. This also made this mama feel better since the water slide was 44 ft tall!

Another big triumph that has been happening the last few weeks is Hannah is getting very close to walking. 

Every day I feel like she is getting more controlled and can go further. She still prefers holding a hand but it won't be long. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. Mostly excited ☺️. 

And the last thing that added adventure to our week was releasing our butterflies. 

We cared for them several weeks and then they came out of the cocoons and we set them free. It was a fun science experiment that I'm sure will be repeated. 

Looking back, I can't believe we've only been officially on summer break for a week and we've already done all this. I know we'll slow down, or I will at least, but for now we're having fun. 

Here's one last pic to document this little life to come. 

Our neighbor, Emily who is due a couple weeks before me. Hopefully our girls will be good friends. 

Sweet summertime!

Scheduling

Many days I spend a lot of time on the phone. 

Scheduling appointments. 

Calling people back. 

Straightening out bills. 

Etc. 

I feel like I've kind of gotten down what to say, who to ask to speak with, what questions to ask and to not leave a message for them to return my call at a convenient time, because who are we kidding? The reason I called at this time is because it is convenient for me!

Well, Hannah had her cochlear implant phone interview last week. We were told that someone would call to schedule an ENT appointment, 2 therapy evals and an appointment with a social worker. 

Not wanting to lose anytime I decided to call up there the following day to go ahead and make them. 

"The referrals are not in the system". 

So the following day I called again. 

Same answer. 

I was put in touch with the social worker who was on the call and she told me the name of the lady who should call me and she wasn't sure why it was taking so long. 

Well, a few days later we all realized this lady had been out of the office for 2 weeks and had just returned. She's the only one who can make the therapy appointments and now she has a backlog of appointments to schedule, but Hannah is on the list. 

For some reason all this waiting, not being able to move forward or do anything really got to me. I mean, does no one understand our situation? We're kind of on a clock and if scheduling initial eval appointments takes this long will she even be able to have the surgery before the end of the year? 

All this was going through my mind at 3am. Lovely. 

Well, after going a little crazy I finally calmed down and resided in the fact that these appointments would not take place before baby #3 comes. We would have to wait. 

This calmed me and frustrated me all at the same time. 

Even if no one else knew our timeline, God did and He could have gotten us good appointments or at least in with one of the doctors before the baby comes. 

But He didn't. 

And that's when I realized (again) that all this is out of my hands. Sometimes I feel like "if only I had ______". 

Called sooner. 

Pushed a little harder. 

Asked more questions. 

Even if I have a perfectly articulated plan or speech things will fall into place in the right time. 

After getting a call from Cincinnati yesterday afternoon and scheduling appointments for late July/early August I felt relieved.--To have something on the books and to not have to worry about rushing up to Cincinnati during my last weeks of pregnancy. 

I'd say God knew that all along. He wants me to focus on this new little one to come right now and having those appointments at that time will allow us to push pause a little bit on our crazy schedule and adjust to our new family. 

I love that he cares more about my needs and my heart then the schedule I think I should keep. 

So, here I am at 6am on a Saturday morning with things still running through my head, but also overflowing with thankfulness that I have a Father who arranges every step and will help me articulate my words when I call about another bill on Tuesday. 

And so I don't forget to document life while also learning so much about being a mom of a child with extra issues here are a few pics from this week. 

Eli's last day of school for 2016. Next year he'll be a big 4 yo preschooler. Sniff, sniff. 

Mrs Kara. Eli has been in her class the last 2 years!

Hannah & I sharing a soft pretzel on one of our last alone dates before the baby comes. 

So thankful for my little family & this crazy life. 

Typical, Not Typical

Life moves at a steady pace when you have 2 little ones and are expecting another, a little too steady in my opinion. 

Our days and weeks are full. We have at least 1-2 therapy appointments (in home) a week and then at least one doctors appointment, maybe more. 

One thing that has been happening (not intentional planning on my part) is Monday's are usually free, which is nice. It gives the kids and me a day to come down off the weekend and just play at home, which I think we all need. 

There are times when I think we look so typical and other times I know we don't. 

Yesterday was one of those days. Hannah had her first booth hearing test. The one she's awake for, has to let us know if she hears sounds, knows where they are coming from, etc. 

I went in to this appointment not expecting much. I didn't think Hannah would perform and we would probably leave with little data. Well, it was rough, because what 19 mo old wants to sit and just turn their head for a sound? But she did come out with some data. 

Her hearing has declined. 

We are not sure exactly how much, but from what the test showed, a survey I took about Hannah and the fact that she isn't readily adding new words to her vocabulary all point to that conclusion. 

Not typical. 

So her doctor wants to move with a cochlear implant evaluation in the next month. This means meeting with an ENT, a speech therapist, a social worker and someone else to all evaluate Hannah and see if she is a candidate. I'm sure it will also mean scans of some type because they need those to make sure everything is good internally for surgery. 

I'm trying not to get overwhelmed. 

And pray that this baby (who is due in 8 weeks) is flexible. 😉

We knew that this would happen all of a sudden and yes it's not great timing for our family, but I'm trying to take it in stride. Who needs "nesting time"

for a 3rd child anyway??

The more Hannah grows and progresses I see the perfection (if you want to call it that) in Eli. 

The fact that his feet move correctly.

His hips are straight. 

He has good balance. 

He did things, like walking, on time (even though I thought he was behind). 

He can hear me when I whisper. 

He calls to me from another room. 

And it points out how atypical Hannah is. 

Keith reminded me last night that this is why we are doing so much for Hannah, so she can have the best shot at a mainstreamed, normal life. His and my prayer is that if we put extra effort in now it will benefit her later. 

Hopefully. 

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10