little Pierce's update

sweet Oakley.  poor kid doesn't have a baby book.  Marquita always bought my kids baby books and since she was in the hospital when Oakley was born, she wasn't able, obviously to get her one, and i have been to pathetic to remember to get her one.  so i figured i should document a few milestones here.  she is such a laid back happy baby.  she had a disgusting ear infection that required 2 rounds of antibiotics and busted her ear drum in May.  she was a little fussy the night before she woke up with GREEN SNOT dripping from her ear...other than that would have never known anything was wrong with her.  (first kid to get ear infection).  She started crawling (like a strange crab) on may 18th.  and on June 15th had her first tooth break through (first kid to get a tooth before 13months).

my Miley Belle.  its funny how you love your children the same amount, but they steal your heart in different ways.  this one is such drama.  has been since day one. but i love her for it.  she tests my patience, pushes my buttons and makes me want to pull my hair out one minute.  then the next comes up and kisses me and says "u da best mommy eber" and i melt.  she wants to wear a dress everyday...because when she has on a dress she is a "pincess".  if you say ouch, she runs over and asks if you are ok and offers to kiss your boo boo. she is a very sweet drama queen.  she is working on potty training, some days she goes potty all day and other she is not in the mood but we seem to be making slow progress.  she loves minnie mouse, dora, max and ruby and peppa pig ("pecka pig") .  current favorite Miley language : babensoup = bathing suit, pitty= pretty, wabwabbit= rabbit, pup= cup, tiny chicken= chicken nuggets, paul-tea= coffee

oh Presley Grace.  she is the perfect combination of tough and tender hearted.  while she remains our tomboy, she is growing up a little. Lucas and her have been wrestling buddies since she was tiny and she has always been a hands on kinda girl.  pretty sure touch is her love language.  though it may come out as a tackle she is really showing you she loves you. but as rough as she seems sometimes she is very aware of peoples feelings and takes things very literally.  she is becoming a bit of a germaphobe.  she didn't get that from me.  im all about sanitizing and cleanliness but i also believe in the 5 second rule and exposure to a few germs build a healthy immune system.  but she washes hands on a schedule and if something looks like it touched her plate that shouldn't have, she ain't eating it. if her shirt smells "off" she ain't wearing it.  she still loves to play with stuffed animals, mainly dogs. other than her toy story phase she has never been attached to a particular character.  she plays with her stuffed animals and when she pretends she talks in an english accent...funny. she has a deep sense of family.  very protective of her sisters.  loves God...i love to hear her pray and am impressed by the intimate way she talks to Jesus. very sentimental like her daddy...who she thinks hung the moon.


love, love, love these girls so much it hurts.  thankful for every second i get to spend being their mom.  thankful for Gods mercy and grace.

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!  Maybe.  Somehow October, November and December disappeared.  A few times I attempted to post but my computer was being complicated and I didn't have the patience to oblige.  I will try to do better.

We had a happy Halloween...

 

A not so happy Thanksgiving...

I don't have pictures. Well I do, but they are depressing. Presley woke up at 4am on Thanksgiving screaming in pain with her eye.  She had been weaned off meds for a month.  But we started them back needless to say.  Her eye pressure was outrageous.  After about two days on meds she felt much better.  We were indeed still thankful for our countless blessings. Just not a good day.

A wonderful Christmas...

Rudolph always makes a special appearance. Presley asked Santa one year for Rudolph to come in her room and leave her reindeer cookies, since then he comes every year, and now leaves Miley something special too.  Presley wrote Santa a letter last summer and requested Rudolph earrings.  She got those and Rudolph masks.  Presley thought it was the coolest ever...Miley, not so much.  Not actually on her face anyway.  They also got pink mustaches in their stockings...turn your head and the baby has one on.  Funny though.

And those of you that thought I forgot to send you a Christmas card, nope.  They just didn't exist.  I know, I get crazier by the day.  We had pictures made that were intended for cards but then suddenly it was a week until Christmas! How did that sneak up on me? Don't know.  But it did.  I'm sorry.  Again, I'm going to try to do better.  But the pictures were great...

(pretend this is a Christmas card)

Ashley Allen.  Two Clicks Away Photography.  She is awesome!

Did I mention that we found out on Christmas Eve that I am pregnant...AGAIN!
Yes, we know what causes that.  Yes, we planned on four children.  No, we did not plan on the this one coming so soon. Yes, I was on birth control.  No, we are not trying to have a boy.  A boy would be nice, but another girl will be just as nice.  We believe God gives us what He has planned, and so far that has been girls.  Besides, have you ever met my girls?  Who would trade them in for boys?  Not us.  Anyway...we are very excited, though there is a layer of anxiety wrapped around that excitement.  God keeps reminding me of His faithfulness and that layer is becoming more thin.  In the middle of my last c-section the doctor peeked his head around the curtain and casually told me my scar was so thin it was difficult to sew up, so if we wanted another baby it would be best to wait at least two years to allow scar tissue to build up and strengthen the scar that has now been cut opened 3 times.  Soooooo, two months later here we are. Don't know how much you know about uterine rupture, but its not pretty. I see the doctor next week.  I don't think he is going to be impressed.  He told me at my six week appointment that if it happened sooner it would not be the end of the world and we would deal with it if that time came, don't think he meant two months later.  But oh well.  I keep hearing the words of that Third Day song, "I need a miracle" in my head. Definitely need prayers for a miraculously healthy pregnancy, delivery and baby.

One more prayer request. My friend Laura got  much less exciting news at Christmas.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yuk.  I think about her constantly and pray for her every time I do.  She is a survivor of Leukemia. She has already been down this road.  I hate it.  She is a fighter and she will win this one too, I know it. I pray for wisdom for doctors, strength for Laura and her family, healing and another super testimony of the Great Physician. 

had to share these

LOVE.

random

first let me say, the orange highlighted words are added by blogger, not me. so should they ever lead you to an inappropriate site, i apologize  :)

anyway, Lucas took Presley to school today.  while Miley, Oakley and I were fixing breakfast and dancing around the kitchen listening to Pandora, this Taylor Swift song came on.  if i have ever heard it before i dont remember but the words had me crying like a baby (not hard to do for the first couple of months after i have a baby). 

"Never Grow Up"

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart
And no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14 there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots
But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older too
And don't lose the way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
No one's ever burned you, nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to, just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder that I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up

Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
I could still be little
Oh I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple
Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even though you want to, please try to never grow up
Oh, don't you ever grow up
Oh, never grow up, just never grow up

 

 

 

love them...

 

love this necklace

 

dreading him going back to work next week

grateful for 4 weeks of paternity leave

have i ever mentioned that c-sections are not for sissy's?

thankful he loves taking care of us

I prayed for a calm happy baby.  Fortunately God answered that prayer...so far.  Oakley is so peaceful.  She sleeps mostly and wakes to eat.  No fussing.  No screaming in her car seat.  Presley and Miley both screamed like someone was stabbing them from the second we put them in a car seat until we returned home and got them out of it for at least the first 6 months of their lives.  We dreaded going anywhere! This of course even made stroller rides impossible.  But so far, Oakley doesn't seem to mind her wild, loud sisters or the barking dogs ect.

While I was Pregnant, Miley would come up to my belly and smile and say "i bite Baby OT (Oakley)" complete with biting sound effects.  Since she has been born Miley has been very sweet to her.  While we are happy she has not taken her jealous aggression out on the baby, she has put that energy toward new tactics.  She now bends over and pretends to cry and says "my beddy (belly) hurts" or leans down and holds her leg and pretends to cry and says "oh no my boo-boo".  She only seems to have these issues when I am holding the baby and they immediately disappear when I pick her up instead.  She has also taken bedtime to new extremes.  Getting her to go to sleep most nights is a battle that usually doesn't end until somewhere between 1am and 3am!

recent activity spotted on the video monitor at 1am, poor Presley, she sleeps right through it

 

never a dull moment around here

 

Most of you know Marquita, my mother-in-law recently had a massive stroke.  She is now out of the hospital and in a rehab center.  In the past few weeks she has made a lot of progress. There is still a long road ahead but she can now sit up on her own, walk with assistance, talk more clearly, eat solid food, remember more. Praising God for these improvements and continuing to pray for total recovery.  God is BIG, and I believe she will get there.  We miss her so much. So much we all take for granted.  Oakley and I were finally able to go see her a few days ago.  She held her.  I asked her what she thought about her, she said "I love her, shes perfect, she is different than the other two". At times she cant remember common things she would typically know, but if the nurses or anyone asks her if she has grandchildren she says "yes, 3 girls". That she hasn't forgotten! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oakley Claire Pierce

7lbs 1oz

19 inches

9/13/12

 

thanks be to God for His indescribable gift

2 Corinthians 9:15

 

heavy heart

Today my husband buried his grandmother.  The only grandmother he ever knew.  Such a sad time, but because she was a believer in Christ, she now dwells with Him.  And because of that we can have joy. 

While at the graveside my mother-in-law became sick and started having trouble talking and having other stroke-like symptoms.  So she got a ride to the ER in the limo.  A CT scan shortly showed that she had a hemorrhage in her brain caused by high blood pressure. 

So now she is in ICU.  Again we will wait and pray.  She is so loved and has a new granddaughter to meet in 12 days.  I wish I could hear the multitudes of prayer that have been channeled to heaven today.  Pray with us.

love,
Casey

Gungor "God is not a white Man"

saw this video at church a few weeks ago.  was given a similar disclaimer as the one Im about to give.  this video is NOT saying sin is OK.  it is NOT agreeing or disagreeing with any particular view.  it is just making the point that sometimes we "put God in a box".  sometimes we think the way we do something, or the way our church does something or our culture does something is the "right" way.  sometimes we fail to realize our traditions, while they may not be wrong, are not biblical. 

sin is NOT OK.  God gave us guidelines to follow for our own good.  rules to help us live more abundant lives, to save us from unnecessary hurt.  not rules to follow to pat ourselves on the back when we get them right and then point at others to show them how wrong they are. 

people are all different forms of messed up.  including me.  God loves us all, just as a parent loves their children even when they are not perfect.  could you imagine if i decided i didn't love Presley or Miley anymore because they messed up or disagreed with me or disobeyed me.  that's absurd.  to think God loves any of His children less than He loves you or me is just as absurd. 

make wise choices.  avoid sinful behavior. be good examples. but let God judge.  love people despite your disagreeances and allow the Holy Spirit to do His job. love as an action, even when the warm and fuzzies are not there.

being a Christian means i believe in God,i believe Jesus died for me and saved my soul so that one day when this temporary life is over i will spend eternity with Him. period. by grace, not because i have somehow earned it. it does not mean that i have somehow achieved a position on a pedestal that makes me any better than anyone else. compare yourselves to the only Holy One, not me or any other Christian or you will certainly find yourselves disappointed. we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus while on earth.  study the Word and tell me how often your see Jesus playing the role of judge and how often you see Him pouring out unconditional love.

annnnnnd, that tangent is now over.

Presley update

We went to see Dr. Freedman today.  She was great with Presley.  Presleys eye pressure was 36 today.  Too high.  But she isn't having many symptoms so they are OK with that for now. 

2 weeks ago we tried to do half of the blood pressure pill and her symptoms started to return so we went back on the whole pill.  Dr. Freedman suggested that sometimes the glaucoma can "settle down" and stop causing the symptoms.  So right now the plan is too start several new eye drops (now up to 5 different ones a day) and next week go back down to half a pill.  after 2 weeks we are to email her and let her know if her symptoms are returning or if her eye is adjusting to the pressure.  If she seems to adjust we will keep reducing medications and hope for the best.

She felt like this was the only alternative to surgery.  I got the sense she didn't necessarily feel like it would work but that taking an eye out was such a huge ordeal (obviously) and that we should exhaust every option first, being that Presley is not in extreme pain right now. 

So, I agree.  Lucas and I certainly want to feel like we did everything we could to keep her eye.  Though I feel stuck back in the "waiting game" , I trust that Gods timing is perfect.

When we walked out of the building today Presley said, "so im going to start some new eye drops and stop taking my pill?"  and we said yep.  She said, very matter of fact..."thats not going to work."

We will see.  We will pray.  It will work out.

genetics

                                                   wonder which Baby # 3 will look like??