Candle Jar Upgrade

So I want to share a little DIY I did this week. I am redoing my hall bathroom, the one everyone uses, even company! Yikes, it was looking shabby! I had wall paper and border peeling off, paint chipping and more! So I stripped it all down and repainted the walls and got started with new decor. I went for a beach theme! I already had a few decor pieces I had collected from thrift stores and sales, but I needed something else...a candle! I got this small jar candle at the Dollar Tree but it needed some pizzazz...And if you know me you know I love a good DIY project! So I gathered some supplies.

 Here is what you'll need if you would like to make one too:

~small candle

~glue gun and glue sticks

~jute string

~embellishment (mine is a starfish)

Step one is to put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the rim of the jar and attach the jute. 

Then start wrapping it around until you get the rim covered.

Next you need to glue the end of your jute down. This is also where I added my starfish, it covered the glued jute spot :)

Can you believe how simple it was to make this candle go from drab and boring 

 to high end and classy?! 

Look how cute that is! 

Here is your sneak peek of my new bathroom, I still have a bit of remodeling to do before I show it off completely, but you can be sure when I do you will get first look!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you come back again.

Have a very blessed day!

New Year New Blog!

HI friends! Happy 2018!

 I created this blog about 7 years ago to help my friends and family keep up with the happenings of my newborn Son.
Now I would like to start it back up again but this time focus on our everyday life and thoughts.
I would love to have a place to share my DIY projects, new recipes, home school adventures, animal antics and more!
If this sounds like something you would to keep up with make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a single post!
Thanks so much,
Love Ginger

Aortic arch ballooning...again!

Hi everyone,  I have been having so much fun getting to know Kaleb that I almost forgot about my blog...do ya blame me??? I knew you would understand! I am sure some of you are eager for an update on my little man so here it is...well for the most part he is doing well.

He is gaining weight and growing and is smiling and cooing and being a wonderful little baby.

What isn't going so well is his heart!

He will be having a procedure Wednesday the 28th to balloon his aortic artery AGAIN! Thats right he had this done before it caused him to have a blood clot in his leg! Well the artery is 85% blocked and that is VERY serious .I have been watching him very closely the last few days, hoping we make it to Wed. and not have to have an emergency procedure done before! So far so good, he does sleep alot more and wears out easier from eating and play, but doesn't seem to be in any pain. 

I appreciate any prayers you could give especially Wed. at about 11:00 am when he is scheduled to go in. They said he should be able to go home later that day but to bring a suitcase with me  just in case he has to stay. I can and will be staying in the room with him if he has to stay over night. 

I will let everyone know as soon as I get home how it all went. 

Thank you and God bless,

Ginger

Getting to really know Kaleb...We are home!

Well, it's been a few weeks now that Kaleb has been home and he is doing very well!

 Tomorrow he will be 4 months old! Really???!!! Wow how time flies!

I have been learning so much about him, he is such a happy little guy. I thought that I knew him but I guess it is hard to get to know someone you only get to see every other day and then most of the time they are asleep and hooked to machines. We have our whole lives ahead of us and I am so looking forward to being his Mommy!

He has already been to a few Doctor appointments back at Riley Hosp. and we have gotten some good news and bad! Mostly good though!!!

Good News: Kaleb will be having his AV Canal defect fixed(open heart surgery) on Novembr 10th, at Riley Hosp. I will be taking him down on the 9th and getting him admitted and then spend the night with him in the Ronald McDonald House and his surgery will be in the morning on the 10th. Yeah, I can't leave him this time, I have hard enough time leaving him to go to the bathroom...hahaha!

Good News: He had a "sleep study" done on Tuesday the 23rd and the results from that were awesome, even though he really didn't sleep. We can now unplug him from the apnea monitor most of the time! He only needs plugged in over night and when riding in his car seat! woohoo!!!

Good News: Also we got to turn his oxygen down from 1 liter to 1/4 liter, yeah!

Good News: He is up to 10lb 9 oz as of todays weigh in with the Home Health Care Nurse, which also discharged him today from their services, she said he is doing great and they are not needing to see him anymore !

Bad News:(  he has mild acid reflux and had to be put on another medicine to help control it, Prilosec!

Good News: The Prilosec worked!!

See only one Bad News!

I am so thankful for every second I get to spend with him, he is such a beautiful little boy and I am sure the Lord has big plans for him.

In His name,

Ginger

Kaleb is coming home!

Yep that's right it is finally happening! Tomorrow(Friday) we are going to Riley Hospital to spend the day and night with Kaleb and possibly be home Saturday. If we do not feel comfortable yet we can stay Saturday night also and come home Sunday.
 I am so proud of my little man, he is such a strong little guy, of course he knows nothing else except Hospital life and I cannot wait to show him all the beauty outside!
If only I could hide the "ugly"!

Learned Alot Today

Today was a very long day! My oldest Daughter, my Mother, my Mother-in-law and I , all went to Riley Hosp. today to learn. What did we learn....  Infant CPR, about oxygen monitors, heart and respiratory monitors, G-tube feeding, giving meds through the G-tube and inserting a G-tube in an emergency if it gets pulled out. All of this took 4 hours!  I now have information overload!
The news on him coming home is " a couple days" they still have to do the car seat test, which the nurse said she would probably get done later tonight and straighten out some medicine issues. I am getting so excited, I can hardly stand the wait!
So as soon as I get the call I will let you know, if I don't just pass out from all the excitement!
Thank you all again for your continued prayers for Kaleb and our family!
Ginger
P.S. Here are the G-tube pictures I promised.

This is the tube right now.

Here is a close-up.

After a couple weeks they can put on what they call a "button" and take the tube you see sticking out off.

Then when it is time for him to eat you "plug" the tube into the "button" and feed him.

Thay make it sound so easy! I hope they are right!

G-Tube surgery

Well today was the big day! G-tube and circumcision! Kaleb did really well and was off the breathing tube right away, unlike previous surgeries when it took all day and sometimes two! He seemed to be feeling okay, in a bit of pain, but the anesthesia wasn't worn off  when I saw him right after surgery at 11:00 am, he is probably "feeling" it now, but they said they would be giving him pain meds if needed! He is such a trooper, I am so glad he won't remember any of this!
Here are some  pics of him after surgery, this is one reason I created this blog, I always wanted to see what my child would look like after procedures and could never find pictures .

On top of his head is his IV line, they like to put it there on infants , easier than their arm or leg!

Kaleb trying to wake up!

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the G-tube, blond moment!

I will get one at next visit and get it posted for you!

Kaleb is coming home soon!

HI everyone, thank you all for your continued prayers. It looks as if Kaleb will be coming home in the next 2 weeks.
We went to Riley yesterday for our second "care conference",(this is where the DR.'s and nurses give you updates on how your kid is doing) and they said about 2 more weeks and this is why:
1. We (the Dr.'s and us) have decided that a G-tube would be best for Kaleb. A G-tube is a tube that goes directly into the stomach for feeding, no more tube in the nose/mouth. The Dr. said that since Kaleb has been on the NG tube (the one in his nose)since birth, he could develop an aversion to things in his mouth and that would be bad, he may not want to eat , ever! So we are getting it out! Kaleb will continue with bottle feeds, this will just help him with whatever he cannot do through the bottle. He is doing well with the bottle but he still gets very tired, this is due to his AV Canal defect (hole in his heart), after his surgery to repair the AV Canal defect he should be able to get rid of the G-tube.
This G- tube installation is an operation, so it will require some recovery time afterward.
2. They will be doing his circumcision while he is sedated for the above surgery.
3. They need to do a sleep study on him. This is where they will decide how much oxygen Kaleb needs.
4. He has to do a car seat test. This is where they monitor him in his car seat for the length of your car trip home, our case 1 1/2 hours.
5.The first night away from the NICU we have to stay in the "Towers". This is a place families can stay inside Riley with their child for the first night in case anything goes wrong or forgotten questions arise! And the Dr.'s and nurses are a few steps away!
So ...all the above takes time, schedule of surgery, hopefully they can get him in on Monday or Tuesday, then recovery a couple more days, then sleep study etc... so you can see we are getting there!!
Anyway I have been really praying about this G-tube operation, it is an elective surgery and I keep telling myself it is to help him eat and stuff but I feel bad putting him through another surgery. If anyone has experience with this, I would love feedback from you.
Also we have already seen the ignorance of people who lump everyone with a disability together without seeing what their individual abilities are. YES, here at Riley Hosp. The Dr."on duty"( they are on for 3 weeks at a time) said in our last "care conference" that she didn't think Kaleb would be able to take a bottle because children with Down Syndrome have low muscle tone and have week esophagus', surprise he can take a bottle and he does it well, she said in this conference how surprised she was, she couldn't believe he could do it! She said he surprises her with alot that he can do! Doesn't surprise me, he has been a fighter from day one! I knew he could do it! Why? Cause I am the Mom that's why!! Sorry had to vent a little!!!
Hope I didn't forget anything , sorry the note is so long.
Thank you again for the continued prayers, I see the light and it is Jesus!
In His Glory
Ginger

Sleepy boy

Kaleb was sleepy when I went to see him on Monday, he had just finished "tummy time" and lunch so just got a couple pictures of him to share. They had to move his feeding tube to his mouth because his nose was getting sore from it.

Big Day for Little Kaleb

Well today was a great day for Kaleb, he was taken off his Vapotherm and put on regular nasal cannula oxygen 1 liter. We are so excited about this step because now we can finally move towards the bottle! He also got his first ride in a baby swing and absolutely loved it! He seems to be a motion lover just like his sisters. I will be going to see him on Monday and I hope to have some great new pictures to post for you!
Anyway I want to thank everyone again for all your prayers, especially for me and being able to wait for things in Gods time! I am getting better, but it is still so hard to wait for my baby to come home!
God Bless you,
Ginger

The Girls

       

The Girls

Kim(12) and Kiley(3)

I just realized that I haven't posted any pics of my beautiful daughters, so here they are! 

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Leg is feeling better.

Just a little update to let you know that when I saw Kaleb on Tuesday his leg seemed much better, they had not done an x-ray yet, but the clot may be gone! I changed his diaper and no screaming when I touched his leg!! I was also moving him all over the place and he even stretched out his leg once or twice while I was holding him and no tears. He was still holding it up next to himself though, maybe to protect it!?
This has been another busy week and add in the brakes went out on the truck, so my husband has been taking the car to work until he can get it fixed, which leaves me "car less":/
When I do get to go back to see Kaleb I will give another update.
Wow, and I just realized week number 1 of our "he might get to come home in 3 weeks" just passed!
so maybe just 2 weeks left!?
Take care everyone and God bless you for all your prayers.
Ginger
P.S. Pictures from the visit are below!

Trying to suck thumb

success!

bored with all this

my beautiful little man

When can Kaleb come home?

Hey everyone!
We went to see Kaleb today and to have a meeting with the doctors to find out when Kaleb can come home, so this is what we found out!
1. We are looking at at least 3 more weeks.
2. His heart is looking good, no new issues there.
3. He is still having respiratory issues and is still on Vapotherm but they are trying to ween him off.
4. He may be coming home on a feeding tube.**
5. He may be coming home on oxygen.
6. He weighs 6lbs 7 1/2 oz.

**If he does need to come home on the feeding tube they said it should be only needed for a few weeks.

Please pray that in the next few weeks the doctors will be successful in weening him off the Vapotherm and that no additional oxygen will be needed to come home on. Please also pray that then they will be able to introduce the bottle and he will be successful in the suck, breath, swallow reflexes needed to use the bottle.
Oh yeah and  I almost forgot, Kaleb has a blood clot in his femoral artery on his right leg, it isn't causing any problems with blood flow because blood has been going around to his leg in other veins but it is causing Kaleb alot of pain, he keeps it drawn up tight to him and screams if you touch it! They have had him on blood thinners but cannot do that for long periods because he is so little but they don't help clots anyway, they have to resolve on their own, which could take weeks! They are giving him Tylenol for the pain but not much help! So also pray that this will go away quickly!
For his glory,
Ginger

All I do is sleep and grow

sleeping peacefully

II Cor. 1:3,4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

What's been going on....

So it's been a while since my last update and I apologize, things have gotten a little crazy around here, I was having a hard time keeping up with my house work and visiting Kaleb and taking care of the others in my family, including myself!!
I was trying to catch up a little and lost track of time for an update!
Anyway, on Monday June 13 Kaleb had 2 ounces of fluid removed from the sac around his heart, all went well with that procedure. It made him feel much better, I have actually heard him REALLY cry now, with all that fluid pressure he couldn't!
Next on Wednesday June 22 he had a procedure done to widen the aorta artory that he had his first surgery on, some scar tissue had formed and was causing a blockage. All went well with that procedure also!
Now he is recovering from the above procedure, I saw him today and he looks good. He did have a little issue with some poor circulation in his right leg but they were getting that under control while I was there visiting! They said this happens alot.
Now what!? Well we will be having a meeting on Monday June 27th(his 2 month birthday) to find that out! We will be meeting with all his doctors and nurses and anyone else involved in his care and they will tell us what needs to be done so he can go home!!!
I am trying not to get too excited but it looks as if it will be soon!
I know of 2 things that need done yet and they are circumcision
The first one you all know about...eek!!
The second is where they test how he will do in a car seat ride for the length of your trip home, our case an hour and a half. They strap him in his car seat with monitors on and monitor him for an hour and a half!!
I would like him to be off the feeding tube and on a bottle but they have already said that is not criteria for going home, he can go home on the feeding tube.
What else I have no idea:/ Hopefully not much!
Please continue to pray for him to recover from the last procedure and that there will not be anymore great hurdles to get over for him to come home!
His weight before the procedure was 5lb 13oz, but they had to stop feeding him for 12 hours before, glad I wasn't the one who had to deal with that, he LOVES his food and gets very mad when it is late!
Well I will try and remember to post a follow up note after our meeting on Monday to let you all know what is up, thank you for all your prayers.
In His name, Ginger
P.S. Please pray for me to have patience and understanding if there are big hurdles yet to cross for him to come home, Thank you!

Your going to put what... where?

After heart Catheterization procedure(balloon)

breathing tube in...

breathing tube out!

Kaleb hates tubes in his mouth! I think I would too.

Look at me grow

Kicking

Looking at mom