Blessings Upon Blessings

Wow!! It's been a while since I last posted and a lot of things have happened since then!! My last post was informing everyone that Darin and I were expecting!! In November we moved out of our little 2 bedroom apartment and purchased a home that is a little bigger and would better accomodate our growing family. We now have 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a kitchen, living room, laundry room, and a fenced in backyard. Ethan is absolutely LOVING all the room (both inside and out!!). In December we found out that we would be welcoming another baby BOY into our home. We were all very excited and began planning for our new little addition. On January 21st, my "baby boy" turned 2 years old. We had him a little party here at the house with a few of our family members. He had become very interested in "Thomas The Train", therefore his party was done in "Thomas". After Ethan's birthday/party, things pretty much settled down for a while until the end of March which is when the baby shower had been planned for. Darin's sisters, Tonya and Shawna, put the shower together and everything turned out really nice. It was a fun time of fellowship with family and yummy food!! After the shower, the countdown began...I had several false alarms through April and every time I went to the ER, I was hooked up to monitors and sent home to wait a little longer. Finally around week 38, my doctor decided that if I made it to 39 weeks with no progress, he would induce me; so on May 4, 2010 at 4:57 p.m. Darin, Ethan and I welcomed little Devan Wayne into our arms, hearts, and home!! He made his debut weighing in at 8 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long. Four days after his birth, we went back to the pediatrician for his 4 day checkup and found out that his jaundice levels had hit almost 20 and his weight had dropped significantly. We were sent back to the hospital where they hooked him up to an IV, and gave him his own little tanning bed (complete with sunglasses) to lay in for the next 24-48 hours. His levels began to drop and we were sent home on the Monday after Mother's Day. Since then, we've hit a couple of speed bumps concerning his weight, but with a little dedication and patience, we have been able to overcome those speed bumps and keep moving at full speed ahead. About 3 weeks after Devan's birth, Darin and I celebrated being together for a year!! We've been through many obstacles over that year, but we've overcome it all!! There is no one that I would have rather went through any of it with. I love him more with each passing day and can't wait to see where the future will take us!! 7 weeks after giving birth to Devan, while doing my nightly run/walk, I began to have a pain on the left side of my belly. As the night went on, I became very nauseous and eventually the pain moved from the left to the right. By the next morning, I could stand it no longer and had Darin run me to the Thomasville Medical Center ER. By 10 a.m. they confirmed that I indeed had the early stages of appendicitis and would need to go into surgery to have it removed. By 2 p.m. I was wheeled into surgery and was told in recovery that had I waited any longer, I would have been "one sick little girl". The enflamed appendix had already began to leak and was gangreen. I stayed 24 hours on powerful antibiotics and then was sent home with antibiotics to continue at home. I'm just thankful that things weren't worse!! God has been so good to me and my little family!! Some things ove the past year have been difficult to overcome, others have been extrememly joyous!! Nevertheless, it's all been blessing upon blessing!!