Josiah's birthday!

Josiah's new bike

water balloon target practice

(note to self: don't use construction paper...which is raised...on a pin the ___ game again)

Pirate cake

We survived 8 other kids in the house for 4 hours! :) I think they had a really good time...we played a few games, ate some hot dogs, watched a bit of a movie (they didn't sit still for that, soo....) and played some games. One little boy, as he was leaving, said "This is the best birthday party I've ever been to!"...a little dramatic, but nice to hear. :) It's always a little crazy this time of year trying to celebrate Josiah's birthday and keep it separated from Christmas stuff, but this year it worked out well. I cannot believe he's 8 years old!!

the crazy busy-ness of this past week!

Tom and I got to go the kids' classrooms and play some guitar and sing some christmas songs last week.

Kylie's class
Josiah's class

cookies from the mom's morning out cookie exchange (yummy)

sweet sisters (aj had just woken up...she looks so old to me)

more sweet sisters (leighton in her 2 pigtails)

the kids sang 'little drummer boy' in church this morning...so cute!

matthias fell asleep while watching tv today...i have a great video that tom took of it, but it wouldn't upload. bummer.

Recent pictures...

Life's been crazy, as usual....this time of year is always crazy busy...anyways, some pictures of our lives....Leighton getting her first hair-trim...we cut the mullet off. It's shorter than I would've gone, but I'm told it'll grow faster now.

Kylie and Josiah were in an after school music club and had a performance at the school's family night this past week.
Our little babies are growing up!! We took the cribs down and put the toddler beds up after church today. The 2 of them spent their entire naptime laughing and playing with each other....sitting together in one of their beds and reading books. Needless to say, they were exhausted tonight and fell asleep in minutes.

It was a little sad to take down the cribs. Lord-willing (can i hear an echo from grandmother's?) we are done with having babies...it's hard to believe that every stage the twins go through is it. Bitter-sweet.

Owl pellets and Leighton update...

My friend, Niki, gave us 3 owl pellets last week....the kids LOVED it! Now, what I first thought owl pellets were...they weren't. It's actually undigested bones and fur that the owl vomits (like a big furball!)...we picked at it with tweezers and pins and came up with this:
Amazing, isn't it???


Tom gave the girls a shoulder ride a few days ago...

...and then the boys got a turn!

Little Leighton was the last of the Mirabellas to get the "bad cold" that started with grandma (we love you, grandma!!)...she fell asleep on the sofa several times monday. AJ had it on Thanksgiving day and fell asleep on the floor while the rest of us ate our Thanksgiving dinner. :(

We finally pulled out our sad-looking 6-foot Christmas tree from storage. We decided to put it on top of the train table so that the twins wouldn't be too tempted to push at it and such. Matthias didn't want to be in the picture, but here they are! I, personally, miss cutting down our christmas tree after tromping around in the freezing cold trying to decide on the perfect one...but the kids had a blast with this one and really don't know any different.

Leighton:

Tom came with me to All Children's today b/c they were planning on sedating Leighton for her contrast CT. Poor baby wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything 4 hours before the procedure, so we woke her up at 5:00 (4 1/2 hours before the procedure) and sat her at the table with a bowl of cheerios. She just sat there looking at us like we were crazy! After about 2 minutes we realized she wasn't going to eat or drink so we put her back to bed....and of course she woke up an hour and a half later and ran to her booster seat saying "cheeros, cheeros!". That was hard... to not give her anything to eat and know that she didn't understand at all why we were torturing her. Anyways, I could go on forever...but long story short she did great for the scan...they didn't have to put her under! Tom was at her feet, I held her hands and leaned in by her head and we sang songs for the 10 minutes that they did the scan. We got the the dr's office afterwards and he said that everything looked great!...the mass pushing her trachea is still there, but has definitely improved. She had several nodes in her lungs....some have gotten smaller, some have not changed, but overall they are encouraged that we are on the right track. We will continue to go in every 3 or 4 weeks...probably until she is totally back to normal. Thank you for your continued prayers...we are so glad about how things are going and will keep updating you as we have check-ups!

Cookies and other thoughts....

We had some friends come over today and make/decorate cookies with us! It was a lot of work, but a ton of fun. I'm realizing that as much as I have relaxed in the area of planning ahead that with as many kids as we have in our family there are still things that I would never be able to do spontaneously and enjoy (it's the "SJ" in my myers-briggs personality)...such as have more kids in my house and make cookies. I had the plan in my head from last week (since the kids have the entire week off) that we would have our friends over and make and decorate cookies. I got the recipes from my good friend, Kelly (cookies, and icing)...made the dough the night before and went from there! The cookies were delicious...the kids had a blast. It took us almost a total of 3 hours to get it all done, but we weren't in any hurry and the kids were able to get out and ride their bikes or play together while they were waiting for cookies to bake.

The finished product!

Matthias is sick today and happened to nap all morning while we were working, which worked out really well because when he's been awake today he has only been happy with me holding him. Needless to say, I'm exhausted...and a little sugared out on eating too many cookies...but it was a very enjoyable day. We had a lot of fun with our friends.

Other than a week off of school not much is going on with us. I've been a little depressed about Thanksgiving coming up because we haven't been able to find anyone in town who doesn't have family to be with...I'm so used to Thanksgiving being a time where there are just a lot of people around and you eat and talk and eat some more and watch football and eat some more....it will definitely be a different Thanksgiving for us.

Leighton is doing really well. She is pretty much back to normal. She's had her 14 days of tb meds and so has gotten to where she only needs the antibiotics 2 times a week...they'll come by on mondays and thursdays with her medication for the next six months. We continue to wait for her doctor's appt. next thursday...she'll have to have had no food or drink from midnight the night before (which is going to be a challenge for her in the morning since she runs to the table climbs up to her seat and says "cereal" first thing in the morning) for her ct scan that morning. Our hope is that everything will be totally back to normal...that the lymph node will not be enlarged anymore. Please continue to pray with us. And while you're praying, would you please pray for our friend, Angie? She is a friend from Virginia who is the mother of 3 and has found out recently that she has cancer. Again. When everything with Leighton was happening and there were so many unknowns I realized that I was actually experiencing what so many people experience in terms of my world stopping. Everyone's lives were moving on, but mine was at a stand-still because my little girl was really sick and might have the c-word. By God's grace, we are only dealing with tb and have been able to move on...but in the midst of that whenever I hear of someone being sick or having cancer a little bit of my world stops....it's terrifying and another testimony to the fact that we are fallen people in a fallen world....and yet, this is not our home...and our hope is not in this world...so please, pray for Angie that she would have an eternal perspective in this earthly trial...and that the things that she knows are true in her mind would be known in her heart...that she would be able to struggle through her circumstances well.

Leighton update 11/18/08

We just got back from St. Pete and another follow-up dr's appt for Leighton. They did a chest x-ray and could see some improvement! She's been on the TB antibiotics for two weeks now and is cleared to be in public...her symptoms are definitely improving - no cough, the only time she is wheezing is when she is upset or crying. They still have not officially diagnosed her with TB and I'm not sure that they'll be able to (either get a sample from her lungs or a positive blood test)...but the dr. said this morning (and I quote) "if it quacks like a duck we'll call it a duck". :) We go back in two weeks for a CT scan and hopefully they will see everything going back to normal, but until then we continue to wait and pray that the medicines keep working. We'll be giving her one dose of steroids a day instead of two....which will be nice b/c she's been a little cranky with the steroids...and super major hungry all the time. My little girl is catching up with her brother. :) So, that's the latest...thanks for praying...we're very excited that there is some obvious improvement.

L update and twin pics...

open mouth to mouth kiss? that doesn't seem right.

indiana thias and firefighter lei

We had a follow-up appointment for Leighton in St. Pete yesterday. They did a chest x-ray and listened to her lungs...she is sounding clear, but the x-ray didn't show any change in the mass that is pushing on her trachea. It could take a while for the steroids to make the mass shrink, but our prayer is that it happens fast. Also, her tb blood test came back negative...which either means...she doesn't have tb or the test was wrong. (they tell me that in children the test can be a false negative) So...the dr's are trying to think through ways that they can confirm that she truly has tb...if the mass doesn't shrink in the next couple of weeks they might end up needing to go in and biopsy it to see what it is and how to get rid of it. In the meantime, we have a health dept. nurse coming out every day (except on the weekends) to watch us give leighton her tb meds (it's a federal mandate or something). We're waiting to hear back from my parents tb tests (if one of them has it, then it would make sense that she got it from them)...and Leighton and I got another skin test today that will be read on friday. Soo...please keep praying! We're not in the clear, yet. They have not officially diagnosed her with tb....just trying to prove that she has it for sure. I'm also in the midst of a nasty cold...so pray for me as I try to be patient with my family and our home, while trying to rest and feel better, too. thanks, friends! (and friends of friends) :)

Leighton update Saturday!

Here's a picture of my sweet contagious girl. :) She had to wear a mask in the hospital on the way to the exit. She actually didn't mind it and kept it on the whole way down! She couldn't stop smiling when she got home and has been so glad to be back.

Did I mention that Grandma is here?? She arrived on Wednesday and it has been wonderful and such a great help to have her around! Today we finally carved our pumpkin....listening to Christmas music. :)

Tom and the kids had their TB tests read yesterday and they all came back negative...so, that's a good thing! We head back on tuesday for a chest x-ray and a check-up to see how things are going for Leighton...hopefully the steroids will start working on the enlarged lymph node in her neck....she is doing fine breathing, but still has a harder time when she gets worked up and/or fussy. Thanks for loving our family by checking in and praying for us!

we're home!!

we got home tonight...around 8ish. we have a lot of follow-up appointments to go to, but we're so thankful that we're home. leighton can't stop smiling. :) i just wanted to post a quick update...more pictures later!

Leighton update, Wed. 11-5-08

Indiana Matthias turning lightswitches on and off.

Leighton was so happy to see her brother!

Matthias wasn't quite sure what to think

Playing in the crib together....

Leighton doesn't have to wear the hospital gown anymore, so she's in her own clothes, no wires.... she had pointed to the camera and said "cheese" while signing please...so I got it out to take some cute happy pictures of her.

Leighton began her medicine for TB yesterday. It's a crazy regiment of zantec for stomach acid, orapred for shrinking the enlarged lymph node, and 3 different antibiotics that she will have to take every day for the next six months. It's been a little crazy since being diagnosed with TB...we are definitely relieved that it isn't anything more serious, but now we're starting to realize that this diagnosis goes beyond her and even just our family, but it becomes a community issue. We've been talking to the Infectious Disease people, and they're talking to the Wauchula Health Dept and trying to figure out who needs to be tested. The deal is that it is highly unlikely for children to pass TB on...it's the adults that give it to the children and b/c kids can't cough real hard and have less of the bacteria than adults carry they are not as likely to give it to anyone else. But....we definitely need to cover all of our bases in terms of making sure that it stops with Leighton, although we have no idea where it started. I got a negative chest x-ray today, and Tom and the kids will have their skin tests read on friday to see if they are positive. I feel really bad that it's become a community thing....but am also realizing that there's no way that I could've known. The nurse we had today said that she's been in the hospital for 7 years and has never seen a child with TB. So...in all, things are well. We have a mat on the hospital room floor covered with a sheet that we're rolling around on and playing on. The child life dept. brings new videos and toys to play with whenever I ask. We have a highchair set up for meals and Leighton has gotten into a routine of napping and going to bed in her crib. She's definitely stir-crazy (as was I today)...we spent 45 minutes standing at our door looking out the window trying to get people passing by to play peek-a-boo. Basically they have us in still to moniter her breathing...they want to make sure that she's not in danger of having breathing issues when we get home. The tentative plan is to stay until monday or tuesday, have a chest x-ray and then hopefully be cleared to go home. She will have to stay home for the next week and a half while the antibiotics have a chance to make her not contagious anymore. We are grateful for all of your prayers and words of encouragement....thank you for walking through the craziness with us!! We are so glad at this outcome...funny, huh? Thanking God that Leighton has TB. I never would've thought I'd say that. :)

tuesday leighton update....

Leighton definitely has a positive tb test, sooo....the biopsy is cancelled for today and they have her on steroids and antibiotics to treat her for tb. Tom spent a second night over there last night, so i'm on my way over (i had to come home to vote this morning) now and he will head home tonight to see the 4 big kids. We'll post more later today....thanks for checking in! TB is the best thing that it could be, so we're very excited that it's looking that way. Thank you for praying.

Good news?

Hi all,
Karen granted me access to her precious blog recently, which I think shows the depth of her affection for me. We wanted to continue updating on what is going on. But we aren't really sure.
After being told that they would do the biopsy tomorrow and getting all set for it, one of the doctors said that her TB test (spot on her arm) is looking slightly red and raised. So...maybe we are praying that Leighton has TB? Certainly not a normal prayer request, but it is a far better option than some of the other possibilities.
If she has TB it is likely that she has a swollen lymph node pushing on her trachea, in which case she can be treated medicinally, and without surgical intervention. So the more it looks like it is TB, the less likely they are to do a biopsy tomorrow.
I think it it still early to tell. Obviously no one is ever excited about surgery, but her compromised airway makes surgery more difficult. Some of the doctors don't seem bothered by it, others seem very wary of trying to intubate a baby with a compressed trachea. I tend to fall on the bothered side.
So, now we are waiting for a transfer out of intensive care and into a general room (she will still be isolated because of the TB possibility). One benefit of this will be less restrictions on visitors and no heart monitor, which will remove the most obtrusive of the wires she is attached to.
Please continue to pray for her. She is doing well and is relatively happy for being so tied down. It is truly a blessing to come to this blog and see how many people (and churches) are praying for our littleist girl. Thank you.

quick L update 11/3/08

the biopsy will be tomorrow....they're going to intubate her and go in through the side of her neck...i'll let tom share the details later today, but for today we just get to hang out and eat and watch t.v. and play. :) thanks for praying. more to come later!

Leighton update 11/2/08

Nothing too much happened today since the pediatric surgeon talked to us this morning. The nurse (this afternoon) did say that there's a possibility of trying to fit her biopsy surgery in tomorrow instead of tuesday, but we won't know until tomorrow morning. My friend, Lisa, spent most of the day with me, giving me a break so that I could grab some food and get out a little bit.... Tom brought the 4 kids over this afternoon and the nurse proceeded to tell me that they weren't allowed in. I had misunderstood a previous nurse who I thought told me that siblings were welcome...but under 12 isn't allowed in the PICU. Anyways, they were gracious and gave us 20 minutes...where Leighton smiled the biggest smiles that she has had since we left on saturday. (pictures to come) I have the kids home now and Tom is spending the night tonight at the hospital. I'm considering the Ronald McDonald house this week b/c last night was tough for me in terms of getting any rest....but we'll see. Leighton also got to eat some food today, which she was glad for. She'll won't be allowed anything after midnight tonight in case they do surgery tomorrow, though. She's being such a trooper...the sad thing is that she just doesn't understand...and she doesn't feel bad (really)... but she's forced to sit in bed or my lap b/c of all the wires and such. She is actually in isolation b/c she has a couple signs of possible tb (it is most likely not) ...which they will hopefully rule out tomorrow night or tuesday morning and then we can go to the playroom and ride in the wagon and actually be active. :) Thank you for your prayers. I will try to give an update after rounds tomorrow morning. We're definitely hanging in....trying to trust in the midst of the unknown. Pray for sleep for all of us. Being tired affects everything. Speaking of tired...I'm going to bed. :)

Leighton update 11/2/08

Several of you have been getting e-mail updates, but many of you may not have heard about Leighton....I don't know exactly where to start for those of you who know nothing. Long story short: She's been sick with a cough and hard time breathing for 3 weeks now and we just thought it was viral, treating her with steriods and albuterol....this past friday she was worse and so I brought her in to the dr. again....he did a chest x-ray and it was clear, but was thinking that there might be a foreign body in her lungs or traechea or something....was going to send me to a pulmonologist on monday. Friday night she was much worse and Saturday morning around 6 we took her into the ER b/c of how labored her breathing was. They got her stable and a transport team came down and drove us by ambulance up to the All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Since we've been here they've done two catscans and a battery of tests...poor thing has been poked and prodded....and is very miserable. They found a "mass" (i hate that word) in her neck....surrounding the trachea. Basically it's pushing the trachea to the side which accounts for why it's hard for her to catch her breath. A pediatric surgeon came in this morning and said that he is going to consult with the hemotologist (blood and cancer dr.) and the ent and figure out the best was to proceed, but more than likely they'll be doing a biopsy (at the earliest tuesday) on the mass to find out for certain what it is. Please pray for us...for Leighton who, as I said earlier, is miserable. For Tom and I...who are tired, scared, and overwhelmed....for the kids who's worlds are upside down without their sister at home and without one or both of us at home, too. For the details of what this week is going to look like and for me to take things one day at a time in the midst of always planning for the worst. Pray also for our friends, Briton and Susan and their baby boy Jonah....he fractured his skull while they were out of town this weekend....I think he is doing okay, but pray for their family as they make their way back to St. Louis and that Jonah would heal quickly! Thank you and I will try my hardest to put updates here at least once a day if not twice.

Ms. Kimberly is AJ's gymnastics teacher and is leaving the YMCA....here is a pic of their last class (a lot of kids were missing that day)

The babies looked really cute on sunday, but weren't in the mood to pose for a picture.

AJ just told me that she wanted to have red hair. I asked her why and she proceeded to explain that red is close to pink and pink and close to red and pink is her favorite. :) I love how the kids are growing up and thinking in different ways....here are a couple letters that were written over the past month or so. the first is a birthday card to me from Josiah:

Dear Mommy, I am sorry that I do not have a present for you. But remember the litte drumer boy had none for are Lord but he did something for him. Love, Josiah.

(i love the "are Lord" part)

Kylie's note to santa claus:

Dear Santa Claus(E), you know that I'm awake, but you really know that I don't believe in you. Anyways, I've decided that it's time to make a Christmas list of what I want for Christmas.

1. a fourth grader's homeschool workbook

2. some really good books

3. a little bit of candy

4. at least some money

5. "Calvin and Hobbes" comic books

Sorry if I'm greedy, but these are the stuff I really want.

P.S. sorry this is two months before you're year!

Kylie

Only my daughter would ask for a homeschool workbook. :)

Trick-or-treating....

October 31st is a friday this year...which is when the Hardee wildcats have their football game....soooo, Hardee County moved trick-or-treating to tonight! I had never heard of such a thing until last year when they moved it b/c it was a school night (i think that was the reason). So, our maid (kylie), Indiana Jones (josiah), pirate (aj, for the 2nd year in a row), and Larry (matthias) and Bob (leighton) went around the block with the crowds trick-or-treating. It was fun to watch the babies realize that they got candy in their bags...they were putting lollipops in their mouths with the wrappers on and such. Another thing that was hard to get used to is that if you are handing out candy you set up a chair outside in your driveway and do it from there. No one rings doorbells!

Here are 2 pictures to give a tiny glimpse into the craziness of the night. The first picture is of the line of kids on our driveway waiting for their candy. The second picture is of my neighbor across the street and it's hard to see, but the general idea of tons of people is what I wanted to convey. There are not a lot of neighborhoods in Wauchula, so the ones there are get a ton of people who drive in to trick-or-treat in a neighborhood. Needless to say our almost 20 dollars worth of candy was gone pretty quickly.