Rebekah's surgery

We spent the morning  of  Rebekah's heart surgery holding her tight and meeting the team that would be taking care of her during the procedure.  They explained their part in the event and answered any questions that we had. 
I am sure that May 9th is a date that will always stick out on the calendar to me.  It was the day that I had to watch Trey hand our precious baby girl over to the nurse who would then walk her into the Operating room for her balloon valvoplasty.  All Trey and I could do was hold on to each other, turn our backs and walk away.  Although she seemed to be a very sweet lady, she was still a stranger that we had met only a few hours before. This was by far one of the hardest things I have ever had to do! Still weeks later it brings tears to my eyes and I get a giant lump in my throat just reliving the moment.  I am so thankful that I had my faith and my wonderful strong husband to hold onto during that time.   
When we left Rebekah we headed down the elevator to the waiting room, where our sweet friend Paula met us. There we sat and first thing we did was get online to send out updates.  I was immediately overwhelemed by the numbers of people that we saw that were already lifting up our girl and her procedure.  What a comfort God's people were to me during this time.  Just knowing that we could join together in prayer, no matter where we were,  and pray for Rebekah and that a living God was hearing my prayers... Such comfort!
We waited for our hourly updates.  Not only were we delighted to hear that things were going very smoothly at hour 1 but we were elated that at our 2 hour update the team had completed what was estimated to be a 3 hour procedure.  We were moved into a meeting room to have a personal update from the surgeon himself.  He explained all they did and gave us her new pressure levels as of post op. Praise the Lord that they were able to fix her valve so easily.   He then instructed us to wait for one final call that they were ready for us up in recovery.
We held our breaths for just a few more minutes and then recieved the call to head upstairs to be with our baby girl.  We walked to her bed to see her laying there, waking from anesthesia, white as a sheet.  I was so glad to see her little face but she looked so pitiful.  The nurses immediately let me hold her then I handed her off to Trey, Shepherd needed to go potty :) We then spent the 6 hours of recovery taking turns holding Sweet Rebekah while the anesthesia wore off.  She started to perk up at about hour 4 we were released after 6 hours of observation. 
We are thankful that the surgery went so smoothly and without any complications.  I know that the Lord used this event to bring Himself glory.  I am honored that the Lord not only used it in my life,  but we also know that He used it in the lives of others that we know.   

January 2011

Seems like we spent all of January either sick or holding our breath hoping that the child that seemed peuney wasnt about to get whatever "junk" was going around.  We there was a lot of avoiding public placed where sick people linger and we missed every week of Church.  So, as you can imagine, Can you imagine? Can you imagine my life?,  Not a lot of exciting things happened around here.  Some VERY great news though, we finally have a renter for our Huntsville house, PRAISE the LORD!!! It is still on the market, Please pray for God's will in that situation.  Here's to a happier New Year.

Kittens

So it turns out that this is what our female cat "Fuzzy" was busy doing the day that Samuel was bitten by the snake. I decided I better cut her a little slack. The day after "the attack" the girls came running into me saying "Mommy we have kittens, we have kittens" I thought they were just pretending. Well when I went outside sure enough there was Mama cat with her little 2 little kittens by the steps of the porch. She was very protective at first but it was supposed to rain that night so I decided that I better try and bring them in. I know what your thinking one more thing to take care of. Well it is 3 more things to take care of and they are sure making a BIG mess in my bathroom. And I don't even like cats!! I know I am really nice. Thankfully I think that I can kick them out pretty soon :)

Our little House

It's official our little house is on the market. Our first home, the place we brought 3 of our 4 babies home to, the place they took their first steps and the place where birthdays were celebrated. This house is FULL to the brim of our wonderful memories. It was my first nest.

Trey has been working so hard to get it ready and all by himself I might add. I am not much help while nursing a newborn and trying to keep an eye on 3 other kiddos. It will be sad to watch it go but also exciting to move onto something bigger and better. We are ready to see what the LORD has in store.

Snake bite

Samuel had his first, I would say and last but I am also realistic, ER visit. On Monday July 19th mid morning he came running to the house screaming. I ran out to him and immediately saw the marks on his arm. I was not sure but did think...SNAKE! So, I called Trey at the office and thankfully he, well he and a man we will affectionately call "Nice Olde Timmer" was able to come straight over. Samuel doesn't always verbalize very clearly but Both Trey and Nice old Timmer identified it as a bite. Trey rushed him off to the ER. Have I mentioned that I was terrified but trying to stay calm so the girls did not freak out. I quickly became very aware of my words as I saw panic in their little eyes when hospital was mentioned. I guess, understandably, after all that went on with Rebekah, they are not very fond of people they know and love going to the hospital. The 3 of us prayed for brother and I used the word "doctor" for the rest of the day.

Trey and Samuel spent the the day in the ER waiting on test results but thankfully everything turned out fine. Appears to have been a dry bite. Praise the LORD our Big Boy is okay but not so sure this Mama is cut out for county life after all.

Rebekah May Update

We took Rebekah to her one month check up on Monday, she was actually 5 weeks already and will be 6 weeks this Friday. She is doing fantastic! She was a little over 8 lbs when we left the hospital after our 10 day stay. She weighed a little over 10 lbs at her check up. That means she gained 2 pounds in 2 weeks. WOW, is that normal?! You would think I would know, this being my fourth and all, but I have no idea. It seems like a lot to me. She is eating well :) loves mommy's milk!
She is starting to fill out. She has that chub on her arms , you know the kind that makes her look like she has huge biceps, hehe.

She is also sleeping GREAT. She slept through the night last night. I put her down at about 9pm and she slept until 6:30am. I was so shocked I did go check on her once to make sure she was okay and she was still sound asleep making that sweet deep breathing sound. After I stared for a minute I tip toed out quickly and quietly.

I do have to admit it was good to see her sweet face at 6:30 am. We will have to wait and see how tonight goes. I am off to bed now to get some sleep while I can.

Fear rushes over me

Hannah has been acting a little "off" today. She had no appetite and commented that her tummy hurt several times. I thought she was just constipated. After nap her checks seemed red and she was very lethargic. She just laid in her bed, in the kids bedroom, while Samuel and Abigail played during what we call "room time". I finally had her come and rest in her Daddy's recliner and then decided I would take her temperature. Long story a little shorter. Hannah is running a fever 102. degrees.

As I walked back into the living room, after taking Hannah's temp and giving her Tylenol, my eyes moved toward Rebekah in the bouncer. Fear immediately rushed over me. I could feel the anxiety starting to build. Rebekah is still not 6 weeks old. If she starts running fever we will be headed back in the ER again. Just the thought of going through that whole ordeal again, her little body being poked and prodded all over again and more days and nights in the hospital, sent me over the edge. Fighting back tears I immediately asked Trey to pray and intercede because my fear was getting the best of me. I started repeating "Be anxious for nothing but in prayer and supplication make your requests know unto the LORD." ..."Be anxious for nothing..."

So, if you are reading this and you pray to the one true God, My Father in Heaven, Please lift up our Sugar Plum Rebekah. Please pray that she will remain fever free. Also, please pray for our little Pumpkin Hannah, that she will get over this bug quickly and not pass her germs to the rest of us.

Trusting in the LORD and hoping for a smooth night.

Back in the Mizunos again

I decided to lace up my running shoes again yesterday. I have not run since my pregnancy with Rebekah began. Oh, it was not pretty people!

A few things have changed:

1. I feel like a fat dairy cow.
2. It is no longer just me running. I now run with what feels like 2 gallons of milk.
3. I feel body parts that were never meant to shake, bouncing with each step I take. Don't get me wrong I was not fitness model when I stopped running, but I did work really hard and may have just been in the best shape of my life. Oh, for the love of bouncing body parts!

Fewer things remain the same:

1. It is GREAT me time and much needed stress relief.
2. The endorphin rush at the end of the work out still feels just as nice.

So, with all this said I do this because I refuse to diet for the rest of my life and I really like to eat, I love chocolate and wine, and go figure -I really do enjoy it. So with hope for the future and for my really sore thighs, I am pounding the pavement and path again.

Catch up

We have had a busy month.

At a 8 days old, On Saturday, May 22 Rebekah started running 101.7 fever. Thankfully my mom had arrived a few hours before, Trey was out running some errands. So, long story short I packed her up turned my flashers on and drove as fast as I could to Huntsville to get her to the ER. They took her back almost immediately and then started running tests. We were admitted in the wee hours of the morning that next day. Thankfully her fever finally broke on Sunday night and she was diagnosed with a Urinary Tract infection, something that is very treatable. But bad news we had to stay for 10 days until she finished the round of IV antibiotics. Since she was considered a "dirty" baby because of the infection it is hospital policy that she not go in nursery, Huntsville doesn't have a NICU, which meant someone had to be there with her at all times. Which meant except for 2 short breaks I was in the hospital for 10 days too. Bright side Rebekah and I got to spend a lot of quality time together and I got LOTS of rest. Needless to say Life at home was a little crazy: Family separated, Mama not at home, Big sisters missing and confused about where their little sister was, and Grandma's in and out helping. Thankfully Trey was able to stay home from work so there was so stability. With much prayer and some great nurses care we made it home and Rebekah is thriving.

On May 27th, Rebekah and I were still in the hospital, our adorable boy turned 2 years old. So with much sadness we decided to wait to celebrate his birthday until we were all together again. This was really hard for me, Birthdays are a BIG deal at out house, I love making everyone feel extra special on their "special day" We finally celebrated the other day. Here are some pictures.

I'm back

I don't even know if anyone out there, beside my mom occasionally, reads this blog or cares, but... I AM BACK. We have had a pretty crazy month, I have a lot to catch you up on. I have struggled to decide if I really have time to continue writing. But I really don't do that much other stuff. I mean like hobbies and such. And the way I figure it...

You must be a writer if.....

You write in your head.

And I think my life is a pretty good story. So, really this is for me. I get to write about the things and people that I LOVE. And if no one else ever reads it well they are just missing out :)

Thankful Thursday - Happy Birthday to My Man

Happy Birthday Morrow Sanborn Krum III, other wise known as Trey Krum, or Shnookums or Daddy!!!

I am truly blessed to be married to such a hard working man. (Seriously, he works so hard for us sometimes he hurts) Thank you for loving us so much and for sacrificing all that you do for us ,so that i can love and take care of you all the way I know the LORD designed me to. I am thankful to be married to a man that desires to leave a legacy for our Children that will change our name forever.

I LOVE YOU Shnookums!!!

Thankful Friday

I know I was not very faithful with my thankful Thursday quest. But today Friday, I have been overwhelmed with thanks so here it goes.

I am thankful that... (in no particular order)

-I don't have to wake up to an alarm in the mornings.
-I get to spend each day with my children.
-I can dance and laugh with my kids in the middle of the living room.
-My children have a beautiful place to run and play outside.
-My husband can walk home for lunch, even if he does get called on the radio the whole time.
-The baby growing inside of me is healthy and already loved.
-I truly love and adore my children. Sadly, we live in a grim dark world where not all moms can say that.
-My husband and my children's father are the same man.
-The above mentioned husband loves his family and is willing to sacrifice for us.

Letting go

I have always enjoyed doing crafts with the girls. I guess I first noticed my need to control when we were working on one of our Christmas crafts. They made wreaths out of paper plates, one of our favorite holiday crafts. Let me start by saving that at the beginning you have to "help" because they are not capable of doing it on their own. As we made our Christmas wreaths I noticed it really bothered me if a sticker was put on upside down or if the glitter didn't go where I thought it should go. So, not wanting to squash creativity, I tried to "guide" as they made their creations.

The new development at our house is... that the girls are now old enough to create on the own, that is right without Mama's help.

February brought the great holiday of Valentines and I love to make CUTE homemade Valentines to send to the grandparents and give to Daddy. In the past I have always done really cute pictures with their hand prints. I mean frame worthy not just fridge art. I take great pride in these crafts. So, you see my delima here. To help, guide, interject, suggest or not to help, guide, interject, or suggest. Tough choice for me! I took the high road, some of the time with a fake smile on my face, and let the girls do all the creating on the own.

They decided they wanted to start with a website that we use for "school" to make the card. They were asked to choose words to string together a necklace that would have a Valentine saying on it. Then after it was printed they were supposed to color it and trace the letters to sign the card. I will be really honest, it was hard for me to mail them, they were not as "pretty" as I like. So, sorry to the receivers if you were a little disappointed when you opened the envelopes. And also, I will work on Letting go!

Kids room

I spent the morning cleaning and organizing what was the "girls" room to make room for the boy. I had already rearranged the furniture because brother moving in means that the girls beds are now head to head against one wall. We have been working on the girls new arrangement for a few weeks as I thought being that close to each other may take some adjusting to during sleeping times.

I have actually reworked our nap time routine because having them that close together at nap time DID NOT work. Hannah would stand in bed and poke at Abigail's head and play. Within minutes they would become so adrenaline charged that it would turn into a 2 ring circus and sleeping for them at this point became impossible. So, now we put Samuel down right after lunch and then I do school with the girls. This gives him a few minutes to fall asleep before Hannah makes her way to nap. After "school" Hannah goes down. This was very hard for Hannah at first she wanted sister to sleep with her. Once I told her that she was practicing for when brother moved in and that she needed time to practice being a good BIG sister, she took her job very seriously. Once I have Hannah all tucked in Abigail has some time on the computer to play learning games and then takes a short nap on the couch.

So now that we have the girls new routine all worked out, we decided that today was the day to add Brother to the mix. After I (well Hannah helped) spent some time cleaning out the toy box and organizing, Trey put up Samuel's transition bed. I have not decorated yet except for moving the red gingham from the nursery in there, but the rest will have to wait. So far so good on the nap time; Hannah and Samuel are both asleep in there as I type. We will see how bedtime goes tonight, I set aside several months to conquer the bedtime battle expecting it to be an epic event. Final victory will be won hopefully before baby sister joins in the fun.

24 week update

Trey stayed home with the kids this morning while I went to the Dr. , Mother's Morning Out is still not back in swing from the holidays. It was a routine visit, Dr. said that everything looks good. Heard sweet Rebekah's heart beat and it sounded great! I was also given my lab form for my glucose test, so I will be doing that in the next couple of weeks.

After my appointment Trey gave me the rest of the day off... I know crazy huh! This Mama of three and one on the way never gets a day off. It was nice, weird but nice. I was able to get some errands run and even went to see a movie that I have been wanting to see for months. I cant remember the last time I have seen a movie in the middle of the day, "Blind Side" was GREAT!!

Moments

I really need to do this more often, Share the sweet and funny things my girls say. They really are great talkers. We have some fantastic conversations! Here is one from this morning.

I was helping Hannah in the bathroom...


Me, "Hannah you already have your panties on?!"
Hannah,"Yes while you were sleeping, cause I didn't want to wake up my baby hiser"
Me, "What a big girl!"
Hannah, "I am ready for my baby hiser to come out!"
Me, "Smoooooch, You are precious in my sight!"


Lord, Thank you for My precious precious children!

* I am including this adorable pic of her with her Daddy from this morning. She feed ALL her babies on the couch and then piled all of them on her Daddy's lap. She told him..

Hannah, "Now dont get up cause they will fuss."

Daddy, ... BIG smile

Looking forward to 2010

Happy New Year!

I am not big on resolutions but this is a time of year that I use to make goals for myself and I tend to gear my projects to, "After the 1st I will..." So, since i blog I thought I would share my goals and to do lists. Not only because you will see posts on a lot of the to do list projects but also as accountability. Now, people know what I am supposed to be doing :)

Goals:

1. read a book a month

2. run half marathon (after Rebekah is born)

3. cook breakfast for my family more often

4. mop more often

To do List:

1. organize school book shelf

2. organize recycling

3. finish "letters" before Rebekah born

4. finish painting bath

5. decide what color I want dining and kitchen so we can finish painting in there.

I feel like I am forgetting something so I may be adding to the list. But Check back for updates, on finished projects and progress on my goals, as the year progresses.

Its a .....

Went to the Doctor today. I was a little off on my time I am 19 weeks Friday, further along than I thought. Almost half way there. Thankfully the nausea has subsided for the most part and fatigue and occasional head aches are my only enemies now. Well that and some food cravings :)

Baby looks great!!! Saw all four chambers of the heart, arms, legs, feet and much more. Doc said everything looks fantastic and we got some really clear pics.

Drum
Roll
Please..............................................................................................................................!





Its a ........................................Girl! There will be another sweet little pink thing around here in a few months :)

Welcoming Fall

The Duck is now wearing his fall necktie. This duck was my Granny's, I always remember it sitting by her door as a child. So, naturally it was one of those treasured possessions, of hers, that I was very glad to inherit. He now sits by our front door and I tie his neck with ribbon for the season or holiday that we are celebrating. It is officially Fall at the Krum House.

Sick leave

I know I haven't posted in a while. As I mentioned in my last post we got sick again. Actually right after I made that post Hannah started throwing up and we have been battling the stomach virus ever since.

Poor Hannah was REALLY sick!! At one point, after being sick for several days, she was bent over the potty and in complete exhaustion said, "Mama, please I don't want to get sick anymore!" Oh, broke me heart! And one night she was so exhausted that she threw up all over her self in her sleep and didn't even wake up :( Thank the LORD I heard her get sick and Trey and I went to her aide. She was one sad baby when we woke her up!

After five days of not eating, or when she did throwing it up, and almost constant diarrhea; we started seeing improvement. She got her appetite back on Wednesday and made it a whole 24 hrs with out throwing up. We have been seeing definite improvement in the bottom area since then also. She really seems to be feeling better I am sure it will just take a while for her tummy to get back to normal. I only had symptoms for less than 24hrs and it took a week for my tummy to feel normal again.

There were times when I wasn't sure I was gonna make it through. There was one pretty desperate late night phone call to my mom in there, thanks for listening Mama! But by God's grace and the strength that only He can provide we made it through the storm. It definitely wasn't pretty and it did NOT have a sweet aroma but we made it through.

On a happier note while Sister Hannah was sick and Brother was under house arrest as a precaution, Abigail got to have some great one on one time with both Trey and I. She went to Church with Trey on Sunday and they got to have a fun lunch date after service. Tuesday she helped me clean at the church and we ran some errands. Fun quality time with our Sweet Pea who is growing up so fast.

* thought this picture was too cute not to include. This is a candid shot of Abigail, that Trey took, as she tried to shove a Giant chocolate donut into her mouth on Sunday morning. It makes me smile and make my mouth water every time I look at it. Like mother like daughter I guess :)