Zoo Day

Our fun. sweet friends the Young's are moving to California!  To say I am sad would be an understatement.  This past summer we spent every Monday together at the pool while our kids played.  Beth and I would get some sun while the kids played in the water.  It was lots of fun.  Then, as the seasons changed, we discovered Bounz, an inflatable place.  Our kids played there each week and we got to talk.  THEN, Micah had the opportunity to move to California!  Sigh.  We took the kids to the zoo this week for one last Fun Day together.  Poor Mallory does not understand that her friends are not going to be here next week.  It breaks my heart.  They really play well together and to be hones, they fight and make up well together also.  :)  We just let them argue and eventually they all get along again.  We all have the rule of no whining...  Here are some pictures of our fun day at the zoo.

Sweet kids!

 I love this picture.  This is what most of our pictures look like...

 Preston is saying I give up!  These kids are crazy. 

 I.LOVE.THIS.PICTURE!!!!!

 and this one too...

 Silly kids

 I'm going to miss Lily Kate!!!  Love her attitude!!!

 That's better silly girl!

 They were sitting so nicely on the side.  Before we knew it they were all soaking wet.  Ha!  They had a blast!

 After we got home we played outside a little more.  It was such a beautiful day.

Briggs gave Preston this awesome football chair!

 Sweet Boys

I am so sad that my friends are leaving.  Beth and Micah, you have been awesome friends and lifeGROUP leaders.  I can't thank you enough for the support, encouragement, and friendship over the last two years.  We love you and are going to miss you more than you know.  We will be coming to California! 

Love,
Rachel

Disney Cruise!

WARNING LOTS OF PICTURES!!!!
My parents decided a few years ago that they would take each child and their family on a vacation of our choice.  We claimed a Disney Cruise as our trip of choice and then had to wait until it was our turn.  Here we are 3 years later and it was our turn. 

We headed to Orlando and then over to Port Canaveral to board the ship.  We went on the Disney Dream Cruise. 

Here we are after checking in, before boarding the boat.  Mallory is not so sure about Minnie.

Mallory is sticking with Daddy.

Nanny and Grandaddy with the grandkids

Pretty Girl waiting for the boat to set sail

There was a huge party up on the deck when we set sail.  The "tube" around the top is the Aqua Duck.  That is the water slide on the ship that goes out over the ocean.  LOTS.OF.FUN!

We docked one day in Nassau

We had the same waiter and assistant waiter each night.  Ricardo and Heidi were Preston's best friends on the ship.  He is not in this picture because I assure you he was eating!

Fun picture before one of the shows at night.

Here's my sweet boy!  Love this boy!

Preston was ready for the beach!

We were headed to Castaway Cay on this day.  That is Disney's Private Beach.  We were the only ship that docked there that day.  It was an amazing island, but unfortunately it started raining.  The kids all had a great time though!

Funny thing about this picture!  Mallory would not take a picture with any character.  We would wait in line while she waved and yelled at every single charater.  THEN, it would be her turn and she would freak out.  No way was she going up there!  So, my dad bribed her that he would buy her candy if she took her picture with Mickey.  The next morning she took this picture.  Later that night we saw more characters and asked her if she wanted to take her picture.  She said no thank you, Grandaddy said Mickey and I did that...  Nice.  She did get her candy along with a game, and a shirt I believe. 

Preston enjoyed the beach.  He loved the sand.

Here is our ship.

Mallory with her Daddy

George and Carter.  Carter got to sleep on this awesome bed that came out of the ceiling.  Super cool.  They had several options for beds for him.  It was pretty cool.  He had to climb a ladder to get into his bed.

For Pirates of the Caribbean Night they gave everyone a bandanna to wear.  Preston liked his.  Ha!

Nanny and Grandaddy joined in on the fun.  :)

Carter was having an awesome time!

They had a Diaper Dash...  If you've ever seen Preston crawl you know he is FAST.  He entered and he WON.  In the first part of the race he finished before one little girl crossed the start line.  Ha!  He got a big Mickey Medal and everything.  Yay Preston!  (Side Note: We got home and he started walking.  I guess he just needed to win a race before becoming a walker.)

My Mom and Me

Nanny and Grandaddy

The whole family in front of Walt Disney

Love these kids!

We had  a great time on the trip.  No one got seasick and everyone had fun.  The kids were really good.  We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to go on the trip with our kids and Nanny and Grandaddy.  Thank you Nanny and Grandaddy! 

Love,

Rachel

Healing

In May of 2010 we learned that Preston would have a cleft lip and palate.  We immediately told our families and then some of our friends.  I had a few friends that had prayed specifically when we were trying to get pregnant again and I contacted them immediately.  I will never forget when I told one of my friends, Paige.  Paige said, we will pray for healing now before your next scan.  In that moment, I felt terrible.  I had never even thought of praying for healing now.  I had told people before to pray for a miraculous healing and I had prayed that same prayer for other people, but I didn't even think to do that for my own baby.  How could I not have thought of that?  I felt horrible.  What kind of mother was I to just start processing what we would do later instead of praying for the miracle now.  Was I being to cynical and not believing that God could heal him? 

The next week we did go for another ultrasound and Preston had not been healed.  I was disappointed, but again felt guilty because I didn't really believe that he could have been healed did I?  Those next few months we went for ultrasound after ultrasound.   We had many conversations with our specialist.  He explained over and over that most mid-line birth defects came in two's.  He meant that typically there is another birth defect normally down the middle part of the baby and it typically was a main organ.  We looked and looked but never saw anything.  We were told to be prepared though for his delivery and the days after...

Preston would need to spend a few days in the NICU, he would probably need a feeding tube, he would fail his hearing test and have hearing issues, and he would need tubes almost immediately due to ear infections.  We had researched and interviewed doctors and honestly we felt so comfortable and ready for delivery.  We had prayed and prayed.  I really prayed realizing that I was the mother that didn't think to pray for healing of her own baby in her womb.  I obviously NEEDED to be praying for my baby now.

Then, October 1, 2010 came.  Dr. Tinker had been so wonderful and supportive and was so sweet that morning.  The entire OR was full of wonderful people.  I had always prayed that I would enjoy the delivery of my children.  Honestly, Preston's delivery was magical.  The entire room was buzzing with excitement or anxiety...  I'm not sure.  Several minutes later, Preston was born.  I couldn't wait to see his sweet face and kiss his sweet mouth.  That precious mouth that I had looked at dozens of times was finally going to be real to me.  The entire room kept telling me that he looked JUST.LIKE.GEORGE.  They gave me a quick look and yes, he did look just like his Daddy!  They took him over to check him out and I could hear the excitement in their voices continue.  Just a minute or so later they brought him to me and the head of the NICU team said, your baby is perfect, he does not need the NICU. 

We got to recovery and the nurse asked about nursing/feeding.  We were brought a special bottle and were told there were several we could try and not to get frustrated.  My sweet boy took that first bottle and never looked back.  The next day, Preston was in the nursery and the hearing test lady came by.  I felt so sorry for her because I just knew that she was going to give him that test in the nursery, watch him fail, and then have to come back to my room to tell me that he failed.  I was so sad for her and didn't want her to worry about me.  I expected it...  About 15 minutes later she came back and said he scored a perfect score. 

Preston's story has been that way his entire life.  He has had some challenging days.  He saw the orthodontist at 1 week of age every week until he was 8 months old.  Seriously.  He wore the most uncomfortable head device you have ever seen that closed his palate from a 18mm gap to a 6mm gap within 4 months.  My sweet boy was so sad all.the.time.  Let me tell you, he felt that pain.  Then, we moved to taping his lip.  It is not easy to glue and tape a baby's upper lip.  We did that for 2 months.  He honestly was the saddest child I had ever seen.  We did everything we could to keep him comfortable.

Preston's lip repair was a bittersweet day.  We were so excited to see all of the hard work come to fruition.  It was a sad moment when I kissed that sweet, wide smile goodbye as he went to surgery.  But, the moment I saw him in recovery was a moment I will NEVER forget.  To say it was emotional is an understatement. 

Fast forward to his palate repair this past November.  That was challenging to say the least.  It was a hard recovery and we are all glad that is behind us.  We had our follow up appointment two weeks later with Dr. Wallace.  He got the all clear and said he'd like to see us when Preston is 2 just to see how he is doing.  Wow.  2?  We had honestly gone to the doctor every week or month since he was born.  I got to the car and honestly just cried.  I could not believe that we had made it. 

All of this is to say that I am thankful for all of those that prayed for my baby.  You were also praying for me.  Not only has Preston been healed, but so has his Mommy.

Love,

Rachel

By the LeBonheur Tree at the Enchanted Forest

Look at that sweet smile

What an emotional day!

Relieved, excited, humbled, thankful...

Sweet, loving boy

I love you Preston Stewart Miller