A vast array of topics.

Little Flara was wide awake for her Grandmommy this weekend! She slept when Grandpa came to see her, although she did show him her feisty side. =)
Little Flara's teeny little preemie paci is as big as her face!
Very good Big Sissy playing in the waiting room (those are Grandmommy's legs).
Mommy holding little Flara.

Three days since my last post. Oh, lots have happened.

I guess my first report can be... ME! For four days this past week, I've been in lots of pain... progressing to TONS of pain. It began on my right side, underneath the area of my c-section incision. With each passing day, the area of pain began stretching farther... down my leg, up my stomach, around my back into my "flank" area... the kidney area. By day four, I was doubled over in pain and having waves of nauseousness ailing me. I also began having some more issues, but I'll leave that alone. =) While eating supper, which I was failing horribly at doing due to my discomfort, I had a "hit" of pain so hard that without warning, I slammed by hands down. In doing so, I dropped my fork and my knife. I didn't do it on purpose. It was an automatic response. With that, Mike announced he was calling the doctor. I refused. Of course, he called anyways. I walked away angrily because I was NOT going to talk when the call was returned. What happened, basically, was that I was told I had to go to the hospital... not Flara's place, which is where we were supposed to be heading in a few minutes. I was not happy. My visit to the hospital ended in all surgery-related and gyne-related areas being okay. Most of my lab work was normal. I did have some blood in my urine, so I had to get a straight catheter (thanks, Mike) to make sure the blood wasn't due to me being post-baby. The result: blood again. The ruling was that I most likely was suffering from a kidney stone, and possibly a kidney infection. Apparently, that culture came back negative, so we can most likely point the finger at the kidney stone. This was all Friday. It is now Monday night. My radiating pain has dissipated, although the original area is still throbbing and throbbing and throbbing. I described myself as feeling "like I've been kicked by a donkey." Funny thing, then my little sister today said, "Sis, this is like kicking a mule that's already dead." Ha! I'm *hopeful* I'll feel better soon.

My parents visited this weekend. That always makes me smile. I miss them, and my sisters, dearly. Diddy and Pickle hadn't been here in two weekends, so this was a long time coming. They arrived late Saturday night, so they missed little Miss Thang. She had a great surprise when she woke up Sunday morning to "Grangraw" getting her out of bed. And, of course, it also meant she had a bag of goodies... more "prehhh" jewelry, a Daisy Duck sippy cup, and two new T-shirts. Grandpa and Grandma took her shopping on their visit. Grandpa knows that shoes delight her as much as anything, so he took her to her favorite shoe store. She came home sportin' a new pair of slippers. She is so proud! She also loves the extra doggies their visit brings. Noël is a ham, so she had too much fun during their visit. She misses her naps, goes to bed late, but has a wonderful time showing off with singing, dancing, and accessorizing. Baby Sissy got a new very, very soft and cuddly sheep that plays nature sounds. It'll be very nice and calming for her while she's in the hospital. Naturally, due to the overstock of battery-operated Noël toys roaming the house, I was lacking the batteries to turn on Sheepy. Thus, I haven't delivered the present to little Flara yet. Her Aunties chipped in on that one, too, so it's a love gift from all her kin! =)

Our visits with little Flara were good. She was breathing... as in no 'apneic' spells. She's been behaving much better with her heart rate drops. She's having fewer oxygen level drops. Very big news... her PDA closed in her heart, so her murmur is gone! Her feeds were increased again, the pressures on her nasal SIMV and rate were decreased, she's gaining weight... we have a lot to be thankful for. Today, she topped out at 2 lb 13 oz. Although it's exciting to be nearing three pounds, she had three MAJOR dirty pants, so I reckon she'll drop some weight tonight. Oh, well! When we held Flara today, we were able to take her off the nasal SIMV and put her on the high-flow oxygen. That was very nice because it enabled me to do actual skin-to-skin holding with her. She, of course, loved it. =) She quickly fell asleep, and slept hard. She didn't stir when we put her back to bed, either. I am concerned that one level of her lab has been on the increase since Sunday. I trust the doctors (they did go to years of med school, after all!), but it just scares me. Please pray specifically that Flara won't end up with an infection.

Mike and I have been eye-balling some ornaments hanging in the gift shop. Although not on the cheaper side, we figured our little gal born at the University of Tennessee hospital needed a 'Volunteer' ornament. We try to buy an ornament for each year, so the girls'll have a collection by time they're older. We try not to make a big fuss about Christmas, but I like ornaments, so I like to get them for other people. Flara's is white with orange polka-dots with a little girl baby in the middle and the words "Born to be a Volunteer." The baby girl has a UT emblem on her onesie. Noël's is orange with white polka-dots. Orange is one of her fav colors. Her ornament has Smoky the dog on it. Noël is dog-obsessed, so we had to get her that one. It says "I'm a little Smoky fan." Noël gave a big caveman "oooooooooooo" when she saw it. That means she likes it. =)

Today, I received two BIG boxes in the mail of gluten-free goodies. So exciting! I had no idea who sent them, so I asked my Ma. She told me my little sister had done that for me. How kind! Rather than rationing out my treats, Noël and I have ransacked it. Royally. One item is a package of lemon wafers. I'm sure most people aren't a fan, but I've always loved them. After eating one, I told my Ma I would probably devour the whole box. I'm just about there. When I like something, I flat-out go for broke. There's a big discrepancy out there about the size of my stomach and the size of me. They don't match. I can eat with the best of them.

I know in three days I had more to talk about (that triggered my brain to sing 'Mister Rogers'), but I can't remember any of it right now. It's been wonderfully warm, the leaves are beautiful, it smells like fall (that amazing, acrid aroma in the air!), it's raining right now (so the steady drum of raindrops on my roof)... it's been a good weekend. Mike has one more workday for this stretch, so I am über-excited for that to end.

Keep praying. We're still in a battle, and right now, in this instant, we're feeling pretty okay. Emotionally, with my parents' visit and a couple good days with my girls, I'm feeling happier. I am still ultra-exhausted. Mike is, too.

I keep going back to a devotional study I'm going through (although not as regularly as I would like). It's by Charles Spurgeon. In it, he pointed out that even Paul (undergoing great suffering) had to learn to be content. Yes, LEARN. It doesn't come naturally. So, I'm trying to learn to be content in my situation. It's not an easy lesson, but it's getting through. The exact verse is Philippians 4:11. 'I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.' That means good or bad, easy or painful, I need to learn to be content. Good reminder!

I'm off to bed, so have a good night.