My Best Kept Secret

    My secret isn't really much of a mystery, rather he is my husband. He came into my life at a time I was not wanting or needing to have a relationship. We commenced a friendship for several months, eventually went on our first date at Bone Fish in Bearden Hill. It was an amazing night, an evening of fond memories. Something he said always stood out to me, and completely freaked me out. Chad said at the end of our first date, "I could fall in love with you so fast", that was my que to get out of there. Obviously I returned since we are married now. Chad was smitten on me from the day he first laid eyes on me, I am still confused why, but nonetheless he was and is still. He courted me for several months, our relationship moved rapidly, many things happened and then BAM we were married. Our marriage was a shock to many, truly even to ourselves at the time. We planned our wedding in 3 weeks, said "I Do" at the Perelman's house on a Sunday afternoon. Our wedding was not typical, we had 3 foster babies and a date at the court house at 9 am the next morning. We didn't even get to drive away from the wedding together, our cars were not large enough for our ginormous family.

    We wouldn't trade that day, or the family we shared it with for any monetary item in this world. It turned out to be a spectacular day. Not because of weather, because we were finally "one" and we shared that with our family. God truly brought us together, He formed our family in an unconventional manner, but it was perfect for us. Chad is an amazing man, he loves unconditionally, and he gives every fiber of his being for his family. Never thinking of his needs first, always putting his desires on the back burner for us. Working endless hours to provide us a beautiful home and nice cars to drive. Honestly, I do not think they make men like Chad anymore, not only does he work, after 10 hours at VTI he cooks, cleans, washes laundry and makes each of us feel special every single day.

    I know without a doubt that I am the lucky one, truly blessed beyond measure to call Chad husband and now father of my wonderful son, Joshua. As stupendous of a husband, he is just as spectacular as a daddy. Not just to Austin and Joshua, but also to Tavis and Tharrin. I thank God every day for Chad, my best kept secret.    

 

our first night

Your Story, Your Family

You were born at 12:15pm on Saturday, January 4th, 2014, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. You were born weighing 5lbs 9oz, the most beautiful little boy ever. Just hours after your birth, you were transferred to East Tennessee Children's Hospital where you spent 17 nights in the NICU with doctors and nurses who took special care of you. On January 21st at 12:41pm I received the call - the moment I had been praying and waiting for finally arrived. You needed me, and I was ready to meet you immediately. Although I was told I needed to wait just a bit longer, a social worker from the hospital soon called me and let me know when I could join you in the NICU. A couple hours later that call came and I was instructed to be at the hospital at 5pm. I left work immediately and went to buy you a few outfits and a blanket, along with an overnight bag for myself so I could stay that night with you in the hospital.

The moment I walked into your room will forever be sketched in my mind. Seeing you for the first time was priceless. This sweet baby boy, wrapped so snug and sucking on a pacifier nearly larger than his little face. No time for sweet cuddles just yet, the nurse got right down to business to go over your diagnosis and health. She spent about 45 minutes teaching me how to care for you and what to expect in the next several days. She left me to watch a car seat video, which was useless because all I could do was stare at you. Finally you woke and I fed you, changed you and had to be reminded to burp you (it had been a while since I'd had a newborn in my arms). I wrapped you tight once again and laid you back down so you could sleep. Perfect timing to steal a few pictures of my new sweet gift from Heaven.

Time had flown by and it was 8:15pm, I had not eaten since morning so I ran out to get dinner, got back and ate in the room with you. I was beyond excited to be there with you and was soaking up every second of your sweet noises, beautiful face and tiny little body. That night I didn't sleep well at all. Every sound you made brought me to my feet immediately in case you needed me. Many times it was a false alarm as you are just a noisy little guy. You woke a few times that night to eat but you fell fast asleep shortly after.

This was the first night we spent together, very peaceful and full of love. A night I will never forget. 

Feeding Therapy Evaluation - Fun Times

  Therapy has been part of what we do from the very beginning of Joshua's little life. He started therapy in the hospital during his stay in the NICU, then at 5 months he went back to feeding therapy. Well, you guessed it, once again at feeding therapy to help get solid foods down.

  Today was as well as can be expected, our little love enjoys junk food. Anything crunchy was a winner today. He really enjoyed white cheddar cheese Cheetos puffs. Not on the most loved list was carrots, green beans, meat with vegetables and baby food. Anything soft to touch was simply a toy for him, he loved smashing all the food on his tray.

  Joshua truly had a good time with our therapist, Julie. He didn't care for the gloves and would not let her touch him, this was a first for him, as touch doesn't normally bother him. Julie did great with Joshua, she followed his lead and didn't push him into eating anything that he was pushing away. He knows what he wants and, he definitely knows what he don't want.  

  The outcome is that Joshua has Sensory Processing Disorder, he needs foods that will stimulate his mouth, needs more input. His skills to eat are there, now just getting his mind to process the foods with less texture and/or taste. I'm certain he will be on formula for sometime, the plan from the therapist is for 6 months of feeding therapy, her hope is to get him up to speed in 3 to 4 months.

  We are so very proud of our baby boy, he has come so far and will continue to improve.

My precious son at 3 months

My First Blog

I'm not really sure what I am doing, but I already enjoy blogging! Hahahaha!

This is something I have wanted to do for years, yet I would not take the time to learn, I am glad I took a few minutes and put something simple together.

Nothing of importance will be blogged right now, just testing out the waters.

So, I will close for now. More to come on a later day after I figure blogging out!

Yay Me!!!