Cohen 6 Months Old

Cohen Isaac Bramlee

Well little man it has been a rough start to the new year but things are starting to improve.

You have had quite the 6 months, full of growing and learning new tricks.  We are so happy that you are part of this family.  We love you so much little bullfrog.

You turned 6 moths old on March 14, 2013.  

Things you have learned to do so far:

~Laugh at everyone
~Roll from your back to front and front to back                                                                  

~ Sit up on your own

~Out grow the mow-hawk you were born with...I miss it already

                                         
                   

~Eat oatmeal (but we had to stop because it was giving you tummy problems)

~Jump in your jumpy chair (probably one of your favorite things to do....it also puts you to sleep)!

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~Your starting to get the hang of cruising around in your GT

 You have have already been diagnosed with Laryngomalacia and Asthma and have been in the hospital twice.  Unfortunately, by this age you have already had a few medications.... Zantac, Steroids, Albuterol, Antibiotics, and two maintenance drugs (Prevacid and Pulmicort).   We have deemed you our "Little Volcano"  because you spit up all the time.....and everywhere! 

From your 6 month check-up (you were finally well enough to get your vaccinations) :

Weight: 17 lbs. 9 oz.   50%          

Height: 26 in.              25%

Head: 18 in.               90%

The first 6 months with you have brought so much joy to our family.  It is exciting to see your little personality starting to emerge.  You are a patient and easy going little boy and you love to sit back and watch all of the commotion in our house.  It isn't very often that you are left to yourself, you are constantly being showered with love and attention.  I look forward to watching you find your place this crazy but wonderfully happy family that God has given us. 

 I love you with all of my heart littlest bullfrog.....  Happy 6 Months!

James 1:17a "Every good and perfect gift is from above, 

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights"

Letter to Kayla

December 2011

Dear Sweet Kayla,
     Ever since I carried you in my womb I have prayed for this day. Your daddy and I anxiously awaited your birth but that excitement does not even compare to the joy that feel today on your new birth. On September 23, 2004 God gave you to this world and on December 18, 2011 you gave yourself back to Him. You have learned more about the power of prayer in your short seven years than many adults have in a lifetime. You constantly remind us that we need to go to God with every need whether it is as great as an illness or as small as a missing object. Although it may be hard for you to find words to speak when all eyes are on you, you can always live your life as a demonstration of the love of God. Daddy and I are so proud of you sweet little one and we pray that the light that shines from you will always be a reflection of the savior that lives within you.

Love you always,
Mama & Daddy

 John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Hospital Tour #1

Unfortunately, since Cohen's birth our house has been filled with illnesses.  It has been since September since we have not had someone on any type of medication, Asthma is mostly to blame but viruses have also taken their toll.  Everyone but my big bullfrog have been through the trenches of sickness....especially our newbie! 

Cohen became sick sometime after New Years and spent 7 days on breathing treatments.  I thought he had RSV and took him to the doctor.  I was shocked to find out that it was just a random cold, because of how sick he was and how hard it was for him to get over it.  When we went in for his well visit a few days later....he wasn't so well.  He had x-rays and was swabbed for Pertussis.  During this visit our pediatrician called in "our" pulmonologist to have a look at our sweet little guy.  After listening to Cohen the pulmonologist diagnosed him with two separate health concern; the first was Layrngomalasia (loose tissue in his larynx which can cause noisy breathing and other issues).   He informed us that it was important to get his reflux under control because it causes more inflammation in the esophagus making the LM worse. Then he paused and took a deep breath and said the "A" word, which made chills run down my spine.  He is very familiar with our family history (they call us their family of wheezers).   He knew how hard it would be for me to hear that our newest addition didn't get left out of our gene pool.  I didn't want to believe that he could have Asthma too....and so early!!!

A week later Cohen started getting sick again, in fact all three girls were sick as well.  I had four children on breathing treatments every four hours, which makes for very little sleep if any.  It didn't take long for Kayla's Asthma to completely spin out of control and by now the little ones were pretty sick too.  After taking the girls and Cohen back to the doctor we learned that the two littles had indeed come down with RSV. 

Little did I know this was just going to be the beginning of a difficult two weeks.  Since daddy had to be in Charleston for a convention we decided to pack up the sickies and stay in a hotel so that mama wasn't on all night rotating nebulizer duty by herself.  So, I loaded up the gang and began what turned out to be a very long stressful drive.

Not long after we were on the road Kayla started into a very scary Asthma attack.  I had Todd on the phone preparing to meet me at the ER in Charleston.  After two attempts with the inhaler I decided to break out the nebulizer,  which finally gave her some relief.  It is so hard to watch your child struggle, knowing that there is nothing you can do to help them.

We decided that she was out of danger and I proceeded to check into the hotel....me, and five little ones.  Yes, it was quite comical to say the least.  After I had everyone settled in I noticed that my littlest was breathing extremely heavy and realized that for the first time in my life I was watching one of my children experience retracting (when the abdomen pulls away from the ribs in attempt to breath in more air).
I sent a video to Todd (who thought I had just sent him a YouTube video of retracting).  When I assured him that it was his son he sent me straight to the ER (apparently we were destined for that place).

We soon learned that Cohen's RSV had progressed into pneumonia.  My poor baby had to endure 5 grueling iv attempts, one of which ended with blood all over me.  It was so hard to watch my poor sweet little man go through so much.  I had been in that same ER so many times when I was pregnant with him, I never would have imagined that I would wish that suffering back on myself, but I would have gladly traded places with him in an instant!

Spending time with all my bullfrogs and butterflies!
So technology isn't all that bad...lol!

Cohen was admitted into Women & Children's Hospital on Saturday.  His treatment consisted of  iv antibiotics and breathing treatments, as well as oxygen.  He stopped eating entirely for a few days and then could only tolerate a few ounces from a bottle (he only had a bottle once before this), nursing and breathing was still to hard for him.

It didn't take me long to figure out just how severely understaffed the hospital was for the immediate need of caring for all of these sick little ones.  I will save you the agony of hearing a frustrated mother rant, but needless to say it was far from a positive experience...much to my surprise!  Not being able to be treated by our regular physicians only compounded the matter for us because of Cohen's other health issues.  I had a difficult time having my concerns addressed during our stay and despite his dropping oxygen levels the decided to discharge us from the hospital.

Going home... or so we thought!

So on  Tuesday afternoon we headed for home...

Psalms 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Another Angel

I am asking for pray for the Kelley family.  These beautiful people are friends of a friend.  Aaron is a graduate of WVSOM, he and his wife Stephanie left everything they knew behind and moved to Kenya with their three boys and little Hannah.  Aaron and Stephanie selflessly answered the call to serve others in Christ name and now find themselves living through the unthinkable.

Last night Hannah met Jesus.  Please pray for the Kelley family, that somehow God will provide them with the comfort that they need.  I will never understand why God chooses to heal our precious little ones this way, but what I do know is that we serve a risen Savior and that He is bigger than our sorrow and pain.  God will be with the Kelley family!  Please pray for them today and every day after. To learn more about ways that you can specifically pray for this incredible family and their missionary journey go to Aaron's blog http://www.aaroninkenya.com/

I am broken hearted once again to see families go through these tragedies.

Big Ben we miss you!  You too received your wings too early but we all thank you for the heavenly light that shined through you while you were here. 

Big Ben's Story

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Theresa....my beautiful sister I love you and miss you!  I will long for the day when we meet again in heaven.
                                                                  Theresa Marie's Story

Please remember to pray for all the mommies, daddies and siblings of angels.  

Isaiah 41:10 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

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Walking Through The Fog

May 2012

Well I guess you could say that I have spent the past few months walking around in a fog.  It is a surreal feeling when you spend countless years working towards something and then suddenly there it is standing in front of you.  It was almost as if I never thought it would get here so I stopped looking for it and almost didn't recognize it once it arrived.

Standing there under the shade of the huge white tent I watched as 12 years of hard work was acknowledged.  I was proud yet numb....I know that doesn't make much sense but the truth is the fog had set in around me,  I was trying to convince myself that we had finally reached the unreachable.  So much hard work went into to getting to here that I almost didn't know how to shut off that survival mode to enjoy the it.  We have been walking towards this moment for so long that I almost didn't recognize it when we walked through it!

It is still slowly becoming a reality for me.  There are countless moments when we will look at each other and say...."We really did it, didn't we?"  We also reflect on the difficulties and struggles with an almost fondness.  It's true....even those very difficult and dark times somehow bring us joy in our reflection.  Maybe because we realize now that through it all we did it together, we struggled...together, prayed...together, and we made our own joy when it seemed there was none.  We looked forward to every opportunity to be together because it brought us such comfort in the difficult days.  These years have taught us so much about what is truly important in life...and for that I am grateful.

The fog is beginning to lift as the reality of our new today begins.  We have enjoyed many weeks of freedom with Todd and as residency takes off, we realize once again what a wonderful gift we have been given.  I have no doubt that this adventure will too have it's hardships but like before we will pull together and find joy in every opportunity.

Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith  as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

And then there were 7...

September 13, 2012

Last picture of our family of 6...

Dear Baby In My Womb,
Although this is not my first time feeling motion in my expanding belly or knowing that a beautiful life is growing within me, there is still no feeling like that of becoming a mother, again.   The anticipation of who you are and what you will look like is rivaled by none.  I know that you will forever change me simply with your presence.   I can't wait to lay my eyes upon you in that exciting first moment of birth or to smell your beautiful new skin and hear the sound of your first cry.  What a gift it has been to have been chosen as the care giver of your growing body, to know that I have played such a significant role brings me so much joy.
How bitter sweet it is sitting here feeling these motions within me, knowing that I will never carry a child or play this role again  However, our family has been blessed beyond measure and we are ready to enjoy our completed family.  I love you even though I have never laid eyes on you and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you.  Tonight,  I will gladly struggle for extra air in my lungs and happily accept the discomforts that come with carrying a child, because tomorrow I know that I will finally get to hold the purpose for my struggles and in that moment everything will have been worth it.  I would willing do it all again simply because I love you.
So tonight I will wait in anxious anticipation, enduring whatever may be necessary to bring you into this world safely.  Tomorrow, I will finally touch your sweet skin and kiss your beautiful face, taking in every detail of this beautiful moment in our life.  See you tomorrow my new little bullfrog....

Love you for always and forever,
Your Mama

First picture of our new little man!

Meeting the whole gang!

Thank you Paul...we love you!

  Welcome 

Cohen Isaac Bramlee

September 14, 2012 at 2:02 PM

7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches

 My world is now complete......

Ten Decades Worth of Happiness Wrapped Up Into One

I can scarcely believe it to be true but it has already been ten years since I first held that beautiful little boy in my arms.  In that very instance something amazing happened, a transformation that I could have never anticipated.  There weren't any swirling winds or dramatic background music but a transformation took place in me non the less.

Ten years ago on this day I went from being "Me" to "Mommy". 

I went from thinking I knew what true love was, to feeling emotions I never knew existed.   

I can remember watching his little chest rise and fall and thinking, "How did God take my heart and put it in this little body?"  Suddenly in a single moment I became more vulnerable than I had ever been in my entire life.  I realized it was much easier to protect my heart when it existed inside of me but now it lived inside this fragile little creature that depended on me.

All the trivial concerns of  the day before suddenly didn't seem to have a place in my life anymore. 

My little man has changed my life for the better and I am thrilled that God saw fit to charge me with the awesome responsibility of rearing him into the man he was called to be.

Sweet little bullfrog, I love seeing the world through your beautiful and unique perspective.  You are so full of life and you care so deeply for others that your compassion is contagious.   I am so proud of the way you freely love others and the giving heart that guides you.  I love you more than you will ever know...even when your making all of those very loud and oh so energetic sound effects!  

Happy Birthday Sweet Little Man!

(I can't believe I have a little one that is in double digits.... I guess it's only the beginning!)

                            Bullfrog's List of Faves

Favorite Toy ~ Ninjas

Favorite Movie ~ Train Your Dragon

Favorite Game ~ Lego Star Wars

Favorite Food ~ Steak

Favorite Color ~ Red

Favorite T. V Show ~ Poke Mon

Favorite Bible Character ~ David

Favorite Time of Year ~ August and December

Favorite Sport ~ Football

     Favorite Thing to Do Outside ~ Camping and Fishing

        Favorite Thing to Do Inside ~ Play With Action Figures

                                           Favorite Time of Day ~ After School

                                               Favorite Day of The Week ~ Saturday and Sunday

                                                Favorite Place To Go ~ Disney World

                                              Favorite Number ~ 9

Favorite Person in The Whole World ~ Mama (okay so I added that one myself)

 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalms 127:3-5 

The Greatest Most Difficult Day