5 for 5

We hit a new household record this weekend - all 5 boys were sick.

It started Friday with Cade dragging a bit and by Friday night, Tucker was feeling "tired". Saturday morning, Aidan came down for breakfast and looked like death warmed over. Titus had a very low, low fever, but was feeling fine. So, we just kept things quiet around the house and let people rest. Tucker and Noah played in the backyard some making practice swords (since it was an incredible 75 degrees). And, Aidan felt good enough to go to Robin Hood practice - big mistake.

Saturday evening rolls around and things began to hop. Titus' fever goes up and Noah starts to feel ill.  And then Noah and Titus decided to take things to the next level. As soon as we were headed to bed, Noah decides it was time - and he began to throw-up every hour, on the hour for the next several hours. I will say, I'm proud of my boy - he made it to the bathroom each time, and he can definitely barf louder than me.

At the same time, Titus fever is going up. We always know when Titus has a fever, because his heart rate will go up - especially when sleeping. His heart rate was over 150 and he was trying to retch. When Titus was a few months old, he had surger for a nissen - which means a fold in his stomach which prevents him from reflux - but also prevents him from throwing up. But that doesn't mean the impulse a body has to eject is stifled, so we could tell the poor little thing needed to get things "out" of his stomach. Fortunately with the g-tube, we could hook up and empty his stomach out. But, the heart rate was concerning so after consulting the NurseLine, Becky decided a trip to the ER would be best.

As Becky was driving Titus to the ER, he began retching and needed to be suctioned and have his stomach emptied out. Becky didn't even pull over she stopped the car, called 911 and got in the backseat to take care of Titus and wait for the ambulance. Now, it's a bit confusing to an EMT to be looking for a car parked in the middle of the road and Becky could see them cruising the parking lot for her, but she got their attention. They put Titus (carseat and all) in the ambulance and took off with Becky following.

The good thing about showing up in the ER at Medical City Dallas is that they know Titus very well. Within minutes he was in a room and nurses/RT's from past visits were showing up to visit and check on our little guy. He tested negative for the flu, but they gave him some nauseau medicine to help with the retching and within minutes, he was asleep. Becky and Titus were back home by 3am (around the same time that Noah stopped throwing up). By 4am, we were all back in bed and everyone had a few hours of good sleep.

None of the boys felt good on Sunday, so we divided and conquered. Aidan stayed in the media room and watched the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy. Tucker and Cade holed up in the master bedroom and watched Veggie Tales and Toy Story (1/2 in spanish - for some reason, they love the spanish version). And Noah didn't leave the living room sofa for 10 hours while he watched Little House on the Prairie reruns. (boy, that Nellie Olsen is annoying). Titus slept a good portion of the day, but was just not a happy camper.

Becky and I worked to keep everyone hydrated and medicated - and even through it all, I managed to clean out the foyer, polish the door, and repair the broken sofa in the living room.

And we were so blessed to have friends bring us food and gatorade (thank you Mike & Leslie).

As of Monday morning, the boys seemed to be making a little progress. Titus was happy and laughing this morning when I left for work. Cade seemed ok, while Tucker was still complaining his head hurt. Aidan was up and Noah was still in bed. And at this point, Becky and I seem to be ok - tired, but not sick.

Thanks for the prayers.

UPDATE: Becky is taking Titus to the doctor for a look-see this afternoon. He's a little more congested but not running fever and we haven't returned him to a full feeding schedule yet since we want to be sure the "retching" is done with. And, with the winter storm that is to hit Dallas tonight, we would rather have him checked out today in the event we are iced in tomorrow.

Donors Choose

Becky and I would like to share with you a special website and a way you can make a direct impact on Titus (and his classroom).

As I mentioned in my last post, Titus is a student in Frisco's Early Childhood School. He is in an Active Learning Classroom which means there are numerous items, toys, tools, therapy equipment to help the kids in the classroom learn. This isn't your average classroom by far.

But, as you can also imagine, the costs for all these supplies and equipment is not cheap. We know this first-hand since the toys/equipment for Titus at the house can be quite costly.

Ms. Lindsey, Titus' teacher, has a website where people can donate to the projects she has planned for her classroom. And, you can also see completed projects (with pictures of the kids). In fact, if you look now, you will see Titus and his classmates enjoying the finger painting which was a project funded by DonorsChoose.

Please have a peek at what Ms. Lindsey is planning and if you feel led, you can also have a part!

http://www.donorschoose.org/ellington

Finger Painting

Titus has been enjoying school. He's in the Early Childhood School (ECS) and is in an Active Learning Classroom (ALC). This past week, we had our Admission/Review/Dismissal (ARD) meeting to discuss his Individual Education Plan (IEP). By the time it was over, I felt I had learned more acronyms that when I worked at EDS.  Let's just say, it's a whole 'nother language.

But, we were very pleased with our ARD meeting and the goals/objectives and schedule for Titus. His teacher, along with all the therapist at school, have developed a plan to continue providing Titus with therapy during the school day.

And last Friday, Titus got to finger paint. I think you can tell by the pictures he really enjoyed it! And, he didn't get a drop of paint on him. I'm sure if we had tried this at home, paint would have been everywhere.

And, the lady in picture with Titus is Ms. Lindsey - his teacher. She is a very gifted, patient, and talented instructor with a heart for her kids. We are thankful for her.

Tis the Season

The past few weeks have been fast and furious with the Christmas Season.

December started with Aidan and Noah finishing up multiple performances of 'The Wizard of Oz' at the McKinney Performing Arts Center. The same week Aidan and Noah were also working at the church on setup for Christmas Journey. I know for some it seems very odd that we would drop a 12 and 13 yr old off at the church and let the staff direct them most of the day without any parental supervision. But, I trust my boys are hard-workers and I know they are diligent in the tasks they are given. Plus, I trust the staff knows just how to keep them busy (and they did). They had a blast up there working with the men on the final details of setup. And then Aidan worked 'behind-the-scenes' each night assisting the staff wherever they needed help. He learned a ton of what it takes to put on such a big production. And along the way even learned that sheep are flammable. I have to say thanks to the Music Staff at FBC McKinney for investing in my boys.

At the same time that was going on, we went "live" with North America HR Advisory Services at work. My team now provides centralized HR support for all of North America. We have been working on the HR Transformation for the past year and the first two weeks of December covered many major deliverables at work. Although we have had a few technological hiccups, I'm please to say things are going well and I have an incredible team of professionals who are plugging away at making sure we deliver outstanding customer service.

Tucker and Cade have marveled at all that the Christmas season brings. They loved taking the hayride through Christmas Journey. They even wrote their own bedtime story and told me the story of Mary and Joseph one night (with just a few biblical inaccuracies). But the sweetest moment was Tucker and Cade narrating the Christmas Story on Christmas Eve for the family. They practiced and rehearsed and then delivered a flawless reading of the story.

Titus has loved the lights of Christmas. We put his playmate in front of the Christmas Tree in the Foyer and before we know it, he has generally rolled himself under the tree and is reaching for the lights. As with most 3 year olds, he loved tearing open the paper more than the present inside. It has been a blessing to have him so healthy this month. I couldn't help but think of this time last year when he was in the PICU in Cinncinnati Children's and we thought we would never get home for Christmas. And three years ago, I still remember spending his first Christmas in the NICU. We are thankful and blessed for his health. We never take it for granted. And, how fun it's been for Titus to come home from school with small projects that he has done. It's the little things like a child's handprint or finger painted that every kid has done at that age. But it seems that with special need kids, those are the little things we miss. On his last day at school, he came home with a Christmas ornament that was made at school (I'm sure with lots of teacher's help). I have to say, it was the most beautiful ornament on our tree this year.

This week we are hanging out at the house and "trying" to relax. Aidan, Noah, and I had a Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon on one of rainy days. We started at 2pm and at 10:30pm we stopped (with two more hours to go). I had forgotten that the Special Editions are about 3 1/2 to 4 hours long. Becky kept us fed with Sonic burgers and brownies while we were holed up. Plus, such a great movie with such a great recurring theme and Christian analogy- "there is always hope".

Along the way, we have had great fun at several caroling parties. Our dear friends have always had a family caroling party at their beautiful home in historic McKinney. It is so much fun to walk down the tree-lined street, stopping at each house and singing. Tucker  & Cade's speech therapists lives at one of the houses we stopped at - and she had several of her girlfriends over since she knew we were coming by. We love these family parties where we get to celebrate the season together with good friends. And our other friends take us on a hayride through their neighborhood where we sing our little hearts out and then go back for incredible food.

Last night we had a family party for my two nephews and their fiances and their parents. We are thankful for the beautiful young women that God has brought into Nathan and Jer's life and what a joy it was to meet their parents and enjoy a relaxed time (away from all the wedding planning). We look forward to Bailey and Lauren joining the family.

And tonight we celebrate New Year's Eve with good friends. For the last 10 years we have gotten together for dinner and a movie. Of course, 10 years ago, we just put the kids to bed and stayed up late. Now, the kids want to stay up late and watch their own movie (and we are falling asleep on the couch). And tomorrow will continue our New  Years Day tradition and go to the movies with another couple (going on 16 years now) - Can you say we love traditions!

As I look back over 2010, it's been quite a year. I'm thankful for my family. It's a joy and privilege to be Becky's husband and the father to Aidan, Noah, Tucker, Cade, & Titus. It's a blessing to watch them grow (physically and spiritually). Titus has had a great year healthwise and is making great strides in therapy and school. It's been a year of incredible blessing and grace - from being told my job was being moved to India to now leading an incredible team at the same company with more responsiblity.

And as always we are humbled and blessed for friends who continue to pray for us and Titus, who bless us with cards and notes on a weekly basis, who share our good times and our hardships. We are blessed.

Christmas Card - 2nd Attempt

My attempt of having Shutterfly update Facebook and Blogger didn't work out as well as planned - and no one was able to open the card.

So, this should be something similar to what you should have seen.

 Here's the Daily boys wishing you Joy and Magic through the Holidays!

Aidan - 13 yrs - Learning to Serve the World, Meeting Needs where he can.

Noah - 12 yrs - Mischief and Tenderness wrapped up in 160lbs of boy.

Tucker - 6yrs - All Boy, All Energy, All the Time.

Cade - 6 yrs - Faithfully devoted, Fiery Foot-stomper.

Titus - Ever Growing, Ever Learning, Ever Content.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card 2010

Joy Sage Story Christmas 5x7 folded card

Create unique Christmas cards with Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Look at Me!

I love this photo of Titus - just hanging out in his bed.

Titus spends so much more time these days sitting up. His trunk muscles are strengthening and it's amazing to see how he can support himself when put in a sitting position. He is not to the point where he can get to a sitting position without help, but he is working on it. Last night, he was basically doing stomach crunches - his whole upper body was arching up - and his feet were also coming up. The best way to imagine it is to imagine lying flat on your back and then raising your self up to a "V" position - that is what he's doing!

And, when playing on the floor, he is working to get his knees under his body and his arms out in front of him. He is trying to hard to push himself along. It still may take awhile, but my little boy is going to crawl one of these days!

Titus is exploring more and more of his world. His little personality shines through in a new situation and after a few minutes, you can see him relax, the hands open up and he starts to wave his hands in front of him, locating things to grasp and play with. He is exploring his world with his hands more and more. I love to watch him play. Like any toddler, he has his favorite toys and activities. And like any toddler, can throw a fit when he has to stop playing with them and he's not ready to. I know this is a training issue, but it makes me laugh to hear him throw a little hissy-fit when it's time to stop playing and move to the next activity. He IS communicating with us and letting us know exactly how he feels.

Titus is loving Christmas - especially all the lights. He will reach out and try to grab the tree or anything that is shiny - and there's plenty of shiny around the house right now! The tree in the foyer is his favorite. You can see his blue mat on the floor next to the tree. If we let him, he would play there all day long!

Merry Christmas!