We Will Serve the Lord

We had a wonderful and quiet Christmas day at home.  The girls woke me up early on Christmas morning so that we could make cinnamon swirl muffins together.  Tim made a fire in the firepit outside, and we enjoyed singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jesus.  We put a candle in the middle of all the muffins and Hannah and Lauren blew it out together. Later in the morning Tim suggested that we cover the gifts we were going to give each other with blankets.  I had not had time to wrap any presents due to being in the hospital with Timmy.  It was a great idea, and the girls loved uncovering their gifts.  It was even more fun because they did not expect to receive any gifts.  Over the past month people kept asking them what they wanted for Christmas.  For a while they would say either, "Nothing" or "I don't know."  But, people kept asking, so one day when they were both asked, Hannah said, "Twenty carrots and a box," and Lauren said, "Five apples."  :)  We have just told them that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  Tim gave me a beautiful blanket with our family Christmas picture on it, and at the bottom it says, "We will serve the LORD."  It is very special and I will certainly treasure it.

Our neighbors (The Ross Family) had us over for a wonderful Christmas lunch, and then Tim and I were able to spend some time together around the fire while the kids were napping.  My Mom came over for a little while and sat at the fire with Timmy and me while Tim was out having fun with his blowgun.  Timmy just wouldn't stop smiling at Grandma. We finished off the day with a fun visit from our good friend, Jessica Bell.  What a wonderful day!

Merry Christmas - Timmy is Home and Healthy!

Merry Christmas!  Timmy is home from the hospital and getting stronger each day.  What wonderful Christmas gifts the Lord has given us - His Only Son, Jesus Christ, and our son, Timothy, healthy and much stronger now.

Timothy is now 13 weeks old, but for the past couple of months he has been spitting up LOTS and LOTS.  He was born weighing 8 lbs. 5 oz.  At 3 weeks old he weighed 11 lbs.  But, at almost 3 months old (when I took him to the doctor a week ago) he only weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz.  So, he has not been gaining weight accordingly or growing properly.

I have tried various formulas to no avail.  He just could not seem to tolerate any type of food for long - it would always come back up.  So, I recently took him to the doctor after a very hard night, thinking he might have reflux.  His pediatrician started him on two reflux medications.  After three days on these meds. he had not gotten any better.  So, his meds. were increased, and I was told to watch him for three days, but if he was not completely better then I needed to bring him back into the pediatrician to be re-evaluated.  After three days he was the same - spitting up in large volumes and looking much weaker and even dehydrated.  

On Friday morning (Dec. 21) I took Timmy into the doc. again, and he thought there may be a slight chance that Timmy had a condition called pyloric stenosis.  However, most babies who have this condition are diagnosed much earlier (around 6 weeks of age).  We were then sent immediately to Palmetto Richland Hospital for Timmy to have an ultrasound.  Tears filled my eyes as I placed my little baby on a large hospital bed for him to have his ultrasound.  He had the same type of ultrasound I had just a few short months earlier when he was in my tummy.

After two sonographers and a radiologist took turns looking inside his tummy on the ultrasound machine, the radiologist halfway concluded that he might have pyloric stenosis; however, he was not completely convinced.   I waited alone with Timmy in the ultrasound room at the hospital for over an hour and was then told that Timmy did indeed have pyloric stenosis and was going to be admitted to the hospital and have surgery that afternoon.  My heart sunk, and I was also confused.  You see, usually this condition is very easy to diagnose by ultrasound.  Babies either have it or they don't - it's black and white.  But, with Timmy, the radiologist had said he was on the fence as to whether or not he had it.  So, I was a bit concerned that they were ready to jump into surgery when he was certainly not a typical case of this condition.

So, what is pyloric stenosis, you may be asking?  The pylorus is a muscle that connects the stomach to the small intestine.  When a baby has pyloric stenosis, their pylorus muscle has grown too large and cannot allow food to pass through to the small intestine.  Therefore, since the food cannot go down, it must come back up.  Timmy's pylorus was basically like a donut that was closing up in the middle.

By 2:30 Friday afternoon, we were admitted to Room 934 in the Children's Hospital in Palmetto Richland.   Tim arrived shortly after that, and I was so happy to see him.  We loved on our little boy together, prayed for him, and sang with him, as we would continue to do throughout our time at the hospital.  Even as I waited with Timmy alone in the ultrasound room and throughout our time at the hospital, the song that I sang over and over again was Proverbs 3:5-6.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."   Another common song around our home that we sang quite a bit at the hospital was "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  His love endures forever." Amen!!

Timmy was taken from us a little later in the afternoon so they could start his IV and also draw blood from him.  My heart was sad as my baby was brought back to the room attached to an IV machine.  As Tim and I sat and prayed and waited, we were a bit troubled that Timmy was going to be taken into surgery later in the evening when there did not seem to be a clear diagnosis.  We called several people and asked them to begin spreading the word and praying for Timmy as well as for his doctors to have wisdom.  As evening approached, we finally were able to meet with the pediatric surgeon, Dr. James Glasser.  He spent a long time with us, and we quickly grew to love him and felt confident placing our little boy in his hands.  After feeling Timmy's tummy for 15 minutes, Dr. Glasser was not convinced that Timmy had pyloric stenosis.  He reiterated what we had heard, that this condition was easy to diagnose, but it was not clear with Timmy.  So, instead of rushing into surgery he had us try Timmy on a special hypo-allergenic formula through the night, and ordered that Timmy have an Upper G.I. test done on Saturday that would certainly confirm what was going on in his little body.  

Timmy did very well throughout Friday night.  He as taken off of IV fluids, and I woke him up every three hours to eat three ounces of this specialized formula.  He was able to keep it down - all 12 ounces that I had given him.  However, when he was weighed on Saturday morning, he weighed 12 ounces more than he had the night before.  That started to clue me in that the milk wasn't going anywhere and that it was still in his little tummy.  Another symptom of this condition is that babies do not have many wet diapers since the milk is not being digested properly.  This was true with Timmy.  I had only been changing about 4 diapers in a 24-hour period with him for quite a while.

Saturday afternoon Tim and I bundled up our little baby in just a blanket and headed down to the 2nd floor of the hospital for his Upper G.I. test.  We were able to watch on a screen what was happening in his little body.  As he was strapped to a machine, they started feeding him a bottle of barium and watching where it went.  We watched it travel into his stomach, but when it tried to leave the stomach and go into the small intestine, it was rejected.  Several times over the 5 minutes he had the test, the fluids would try to squeeze through, but could never make it out of the stomach.  The radiologist as well as the pediatric surgeon were certain that Timmy did indeed have pyloric stenosis.  Tim and I were also now convinced after what we had seen on the screen.  

Timmy was once again prepped for surgery, and Tim and I headed down to the 3rd floor to meet with the pediatric anesthesiologists.  They were wonderful, just like Timmy's surgeon.  They put our minds at ease that our baby was in good hands.  We were really impressed and thankful that everyone we came into contact with took lots of time to explain to us everything that was going on.  There was never any rush.  We were treated as people and not as numbers.

At 5:00 Saturday evening, we kissed our baby and handed him over to the anesthesiologists and surgeon.  We watched them disappear between double doors and were told we would hear some news in about an hour and a half.   Our hearts were not heavy or anxious in the least.  We were completely at peace and knew that our Mighty God was and is completely in control. Whatever happened was in his hands, and whatever happened we would certainly always declare that He alone is good.

At 6:30 p.m., one of the anesthesiologists came out to speak with us and let us know that all was well.  Praise the LORD!! Timmy had done great and was recovering nicely.  Before surgery they had to find a new site for his IV and said that was a bit difficult because Timmy was so dehydrated.  They also had to empty the contents of his stomach before giving his anesthesia, and said that he threw up 12 ounces of fluid!  But, all went well.  Dr. Glasser made an incision just above Timmy's belly button that was about 1.5 inches long, and went in and cut a hole in the pylorus muscle to allow food to be able to start passing through.  The muscle will never grow back together and food will always be able to pass through from here on out. Dr. Glasser told us, "This is wonderful disease to have if you have to have a disease.  It is life-threatening, but it is also 100% curable, and you never struggle with it again."  Praise the LORD again!

Around 7:00 p.m. we were able to go back to the recovery room and hold our baby, who was still asleep.  Precious little boy!!!  We could just eat him up!!

We were then taken back to room 934 where we would stay until Monday afternoon, when we were discharged to go home.  Timmy is allowed to eat 2-3 ounces every 2-3 hours and will gradually build up from there.  So, for a little while we will be on a newborn schedule where I wake him up to eat during the night.  He is able to hold his food down now and is having many more wet and dirty diapers.  I have never loved changing dirty diapers so much!!  :)

Timmy already looks so much better.  Those who have seen him have even commented how different he looks.  He is smiling much more and able to focus and interact so much better.  God is good no matter what, but we certainly are delighted and grateful to be home now with three healthy children.

Pictures above:

1 - Timmy in his carseat after his IV had been taken out and he was only connected to the heart monitor.  What a precious, happy baby.

2 - Timmy in his 5-star hotel room.  :)

1- Hannah enjoys talking on the phone.

2- Lauren enjoys eating yogurt with her new hairstyle.

3 - Timmy is learning to sit up (assisted).

4 - All three kids watching Psalty together.

5 - Hanging out on the couch - precious cuties.

Christmas Dresses

Asheville, NC

    On Tuesday morning, Tim, Allyson, Hannah, Lauren, Timmy, and Grandma packed the van full and headed to the mountains in Asheville, NC for the week.  It was a great time to go to the mountains since it wasn't prime time for tourists to be in town.  Several pictures above describe our wonderful trip.  1) Tim showing little Tim around.  2) Our three cuties in a rocking chair at the Grove Park Inn (beautiful!!).  3) Hannah and Lauren enjoying lollipops as Mama and Grandma look around the fun Cabbage Rose shop.  4) Tim, Hannah, and Lauren swimming at the hotel.  Hannah loved it!! 5) Allyson holding Timmy on the trolley ride.

   

Indian Girls at Lake Junaluska

Hannah and Lauren had a blast with their new drums and tomahawks at Lake Junaluska, or as Lauren called it, "Lake Alaska."  Lauren used her tomahawk as a cane most of the time, and Hannah used her tomahawk as a blowgun to shoot "darts" at Tim.  They also enjoyed playing their drums together and running around being silly.  It was a beautiful, chilly afternoon at Lake Junaluska.

Tim Reed Family of 5

It's hard to believe that 6 1/2 years ago Tim and I were just beginning our lives together.  Oh how things have changed over those past six years, and we realize more and more all the time just how blessed we truly are.  We are grateful to the Lord for the wonderful marriage He has given us, which just keeps getting better all the time!!  :)  And we absolutely love being parents and training our children in the Lord.  Hannah, Lauren, and Timmy are all precious gifts that we treasure.  Psalm 127:3, "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward." We do not know what tomorrow may bring, but we do know that our hope and our faith are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He alone may we always trust and obey.

Timmy is 9 weeks old

Oh how fast our little boy is growing.  He is smiling and cooing a lot now and can follow us with his eyes.  He is looking more and more like his Daddy all the time, which makes me very happy.  

When mom's away...

Mommy just completed a 6-week women's Bible study on Monday nights.
This past Monday she stayed later than usual, and when she finally called home to say that she was on her way it was 10:18 PM and it was a 40 minute ride home. She certainly didn't expect to hear what she did when I picked up the phone. You see, I had taken advantage of the sun going down earlier these days to put the kids down to bed at an early hour - 6:45, very early considering they usually go down after 8:00. They went down without a fuss. Lauren, however, had been developing a stuffy nose and cold, likely from the nursery at church the previous day. By 10:00 PM and many visits later, to Lauren, that is, she finally broke down and wept openly.
I went to find her, hold her and pray with her. Hannah was awake, and while she got up to go potty Lauren sat crying on the bathroom counter while I put vapor rub on her. Lauren crying in my ear wasn't enough noise so little Timmy decided to join the fun and announce his awakening.
I told Hannah that she definitely needed to go to sleep because she had skipped her nap and... "Hannah, sweetie, you really need to go to sleep because you know what happens when you don't sleep enough?.... yeah! that's right... you get "crampies" in your legs.  So she obediently got in bed.
Lauren needed me so I told her she could come with me but..."Lauren, baby doll, you can come with me but as you can hear, Timmy needs me to get him and feed him, so you can sit next to me OK?" She understood and cam along.
Walking out of the room with Lauren's little hand in mind, I looked back into the girls' dimly lit room and I saw Hannah sitting up waiting for us to leave and I thought 'why not?' "Hannah.. you wanna come join us?" Certainly she did and came along.
We rescued Timmy from his crib. He had taken a really long nap. We marched downstairs and while he ate we talked. We conversed and extensively explored the concept of Lauren being sick and how it was important for her to cover her mouth and not to "bless you" (sneeze) on Timmy or Papa or Hannah. We also explained how her "sickies" were contagious and that they couldn't play with the same toys for the next few days because Lauren might give her "sickies" to Hannah. It was priceless to watch their little minds ponder, grasp, comprehend and interact with the concept at hand.
That is when Mama called and heard more than just me. We all took turns talking to her but we "of course" determined that Lauren was to be the last person to use Papa's cell phone so that she wouldn't pass her "sickies" on to someone else. She would then be responsible to wipe Papa's phone down with a wipe (they love being assigned meaningful tasks). So after we all talked to Mama I took the phone from Lauren to close and they both yelled "Nooooo!" They were genuinely worried about me and I picked it up by its antenna and said "see ya soon!" To reassure them I demonstrated how I was holding the phone by the antenna and they were relieved.
So, while we waited for Mama to get home we just stayed up and had a good time as you can see in the pictures :)

Lauren sings on stage (Age 2/half)

How fun!
I (Tim) sing on the worship team at church every other Sunday (approx.). This past Sunday, while we were finishing up the morning practice before the service I invited Lauren to come with me. She is usually quite shy with anyone she doesn't know, especially men. I held her up to a microphone and told her to quote a verse. She did and enjoyed hearing herself through the monitor. Perhaps 15 people began to pay attention to the little girl on stage quote scripture verses and sing songs. For those of you who haven't met Lauren or at least seen her lately, she can speak really well for her age and she has the cutest little lisp in her speech. She liked it so much that I eventually put her down on the floor and brought the microphone down to her level. She quoted a verse or sang a song and then walked a few steps toward me and said "can I do another one?"
I would say about 30+ people ended up hearing her.
"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you"
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones"
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it"
"Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God"
"Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right"
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
"The Joy of the Lord is my strength"
"God is Love"
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
All of these, by the way, are spoken. They know these and many more in song form.
I brought a mic. down to Hannah's level too but she decided to wait till another time. Anyway, the pastor came by and said: "That is so precious, do you think she could do it during the preaching?" I told him I'd try. When the worship part of the service was over I went back to the nursery in search for Lauren. She agreed to do it so I brought her before the congregation. She was very cool about it but when our actual moment came, she froze in the silence and stage lights. She was brave to try :) It was a lot of fun while it lasted and Hannah was an excellent sport about it too, being very proud (and not jealous) of her little sister.

Cowboys and Cowgirls

All five of us now have cowboy hats. So, though we do not celebrate Halloween, we did dress our cuties up in their cowboy and cowgirl attire for a little parade in our neighborhood. Now we can dress appropriately for all of our fires at our backyard fire pit that we are enjoying so much!

Hello the Fire

I recently purchased some concrete blocks for the purpose of building a fire pit in our backyard. I don't know if any of you own or have seen any of those convenient, pre-manufactured fire pit bowls that are available at Home Depot and such places. Well, I'm sure they meet some people's needs and wants but they seemed too pricey and too small for my liking. So, the Reed family now enjoys a rugged concrete block fire pit that has already been used 4 times in just a week. What a joy! We have enjoyed 'smores' with neighbors and friends, we've shared Bible stories with the girls, and I've had one of my most rewarding photo shoots in recent memory. I took in plenty of smoke to get some very satisfying shots. I hope the selections posted on this blog give it justice. All to say, just like I have said with the Lentil Soup (thank you for the votes thus far) you are invited to join us at the fire as well. I should also comment that on your way in from the outer darkness, "do holler 'hello the fire' so I don't up'n shoot ya wit ma shotgun" (or newfound weapons:), thinking you're a beast threatening my territory.

Ruth and Naomi

What a privilege it is to teach our children about God's Holy Word and to train them up in the Lord! Hannah and Lauren's favorite time of day is after dinner when they have "Bible time with Papa." Every night after dinner Hannah says something like, "Can we go brush our teeth and then have a Bible story?" As you can imagine, that is music to our ears as parents. Tim is an amazing teacher and is a master at explaining things. It blesses my heart to watch Hannah's eyes fixed upon her Papa's eyes as he shares with her about stories from the Bible. Many times tears of joy fill my eyes and a huge smile covers my face as I observe what is going on. The girls are learning about the love of their heavenly Father through the love of their Papa.
During the days, the girls and I do a variety of learning activities in preparation for official homeschooling one day, and I tell them Bible stories some days. They are also learning Bible verses. They have memorized many verses that are put to song, and we are now working on saying the verses without the music. Last week they learned the following verses: 1) "Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God" and 2) "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." At one point last week, Hannah said, "When we fight (referring to when she and Lauren don't share sometimes) our bones dry up. I want to have a joyful heart." :)
One of our recent Bible stories was about Ruth and Naomi. The picture you see for this post is Hannah dressed up as Ruth and Lauren dressed up as Naomi. It is so much fun to have precious children and to train them up in the Lord! We are blessed, indeed!

More SC State Fair Pics.

SC State Fair

We had a great time at the South Carolina State Fair with Grandma. The weather was actually pretty warm, even hot, not like the usual chilly fair weather. We watched a pig race, a horse show, ate an elephant ear,cotton candy, turkey leg, and fiske fries, rode the fun rides, and enjoyed some good music. Hannah and Lauren loved cheering on the pigs during the race, and Lauren had a great time riding a pony. They both enjoyed watching the miniature horses during the horse show and getting on a tractor. A great time was had by all!!

Pumpkin Patch

The girls have been looking forward to going to the Pumpkin Patch for weeks now. They ran and played among the pumpkins and finally got to choose a mini pumpkin to take home with them. I had lots of fun doing a photo shoot with my three precious cuties and now know how hard Tim works to get good shots - it's a lot of work but well worth it. We had a blast!!