BlogRoll 9/23/08

Today we saw Amy and Phillip (Hubert's brother) because they were up because their son, Marshall, is actually having another cochlear implant put in this week here at Doernbecher. So we got to spend some time with them and we will see them again today.

A typical day for us is we usually go see Gracie a couple of times later in the day and just take it easy around the Ronald McDonald house in the morning. It's hard for me to do a lot of running around so I try to rest in the morning. The nurses seem to get their orders for the day around 11:00 so it seems if we go later in the day they have initiated Gracie's changes for the day and we get to see more how she is doing. Like yesterday, we saw her a couple of times in the afternoon and then we went to see her again at 8:00 p.m. The last time was kind of exciting because by then they had her all switched over to her new ventilator and had made several changes to her gases and so forth.

The Ronald McDonald house is actually very nice. They set it up to feel more like a home and so it has kind of a homey feel to it. I like it because it is "relaxed." At a time where nothing seems to be so relaxed, it's nice to come here. And all the people are really friendly, except for that one weird lady. She just reminded us that indeed we are in Portland. Everyone pitches in to help out around the house - we have to do one chore a day. Of course, Hubie is pulling my weight for me since I can't even get out of bed without his help. In the middle of the night he hears this distressed "help" and he comes over to help me sit up. I had the humbling experience of shopping at Fred Meyer the other day via one of those little scooter seats. Hubert tells me I look like a little old lady all hunched over and I tell him "well I feel like a little old lady too!" How any woman with a C-section takes care of a baby I'll never know. It's a good thing Gracie is being taken care of right now because I can barely get myself to the bathroom...

Honestly, though, the experience has been scary but overall I have to say that in a weird sort of way this has been a good experience. It has really brought Hubert & I closer together as we have trudged our way through this. We have witnessed so many little miracles and felt so loved and cared for by friends and family. Just yesterday a complete stranger brought us a ton of groceries. It was Krissy's aunt. Somebody she didn't even know but she felt compelled to reach out and do a kind deed. It warms my heart. So many of our friends and family have visited us and taken care of the kids. I can't imagine feeling more love than I do right now and I can't even imagine feeling more love for little Gracie than I do right now. Seeing her have to go through this just expands my heart so much. Usually it takes me quite a few midnight feedings before I get there because "nurture" hasn't always been my middle name. But I just want to hold her so bad and never put her down for anything. I have truly felt my Heavenly Father guiding us along and lifting us up so much.

Everyone really seems to love the name we picked out for her. It's been Grace all through the pregnancy but we kind of like to wait until the very end until we commit to the name. I always kind of second guess names - is that really the name we want? Even now, I still kind of do that with Mackenzie. Was that the right name? But Gracie just really fits her name. When we were first pregnant with Mackenzie we asked my niece, Madison, that passed away from lightning, what we should name her. She said "Grace Ann" Except in the South you kind of say it like "Graceannnn" with a big inflection at the end. Hubert calls her "Gray Sand." At the time we really didn't like the name that much but for some reason right from the beginning with this pregnancy, we just knew she was going to be Grace Ann. We tossed around a few other ideas, but I like to think Madison had a part in naming this one. I love Gracie, which is what we will probably end up calling her most of the time.