Our Day at Jackson's Orchard

Saturday, SCA had a celebration at Jackson's Orchard. They fed us lunch and then we were free to roam around. Chloe had a great time!!

They announced at the luncheon that SCA will be getting a new machine which was great news, but means more work and travel for Daddy.

Boy that water sure is good!!!

Recently,when Chloe eats, and she really likes what she is eating or drinking, she does this hilarious thing with her tongue!!

Thursday in Russellville

Chloe and I spent Thursday night at Grammie and O'Pa's as Stephen was in Philadelphia on a business trip. On Thursday, Courtney and her mother came over and we went out to eat at a new bar-b-que place in town. It was really yummy!! On Friday, Grammie and I took Chloe to the park to swing for the first time.... she loved it. She would just laugh and laugh the higher we would swing her.

New Report on Stephen's Eyes

Stephen met with a specialist at Vanderbilt today concerning his eyes. The good news is that the pressure was down in both eyes. The bad news is that they want to do surgery as soon as possible due to the fluctuating pressure and hemorrhaging blood vessels. The decision we have to make now is which doctor we want to do the surgery, the one at Vanderbilt, or the doctor who did the last surgery. We will see the doctor who did the last surgery on October 4th, as this was an already scheduled appointment. We will make the decision after seeing this doctor. Please pray that we will make a wise, informed decision as Stephen's eyesight is so precious.

Destin Florida

A Week in Florida

We just returned from a nice, relaxing week in Destin, Florida. We were a little worried that Hurricane Ike may affect our trip, but the weather turned out to be perfect. We only had one emergency on the trip and that was when Lori had to go to the emergency room. We were at a very nice seafood restaurant name Stinky's (I don't know where the name came from) and Lori decided to get a specialty fish called escaril. After eating the fish, I took one look at her and knew something was wrong. I said, "Are you OK?" and she proceeded to tell us that it felt like her throat was closing up and her lips were numb!!! The only Benadryl we had was back at the condo!! A lady in the restaurant overheard us talking and luckily had some Benadryl with her. Lori felt a little better after taking it, but we decided to go on to the emergency room because she was still having some difficulty breathing. They gave her a shot and sent us on our way. However, the staff at the emergency room said that they had never heard of this kind of fish and could not even find it on their allergy list. Beware of seafood.....

Chloe was great the whole trip even though she suffered severe allergies the first few days. She loved looking at the ocean, but did not want to put her feet in it. She prefers the pool in her float we refer to as "Myrtle the Turtle". This time she even went under for several seconds at a time. She did not seem to mind it at all. I think it bothered me more than it did her. She was a real trooper.

Oh...I did almost forget to mention the trip down to Florida. We left around 5:00 and had reservations at a LaQunita Inn in Pratville, Alabama. We got to the hotel around midnight and we all headed straight for the bed. Chloe had a little crib at the foot of our bed. Well, we turned out the lights and Chloe was not having it. She screamed until 2:00, which was 3:00 am their time. I heard people begin to ruffle around and knew what was coming.... A call from the front desk. She asked if she could bring us some milk or anything. What were we supposed to do? We tried everything. What a start to the trip!!

Look at her go!!!

Chloe loves her new walker we bought her at the Lil' Angels consignment sale. We just bought it last week and she is already moving right along. She catches onto things so fast. It won't be long before she is walking without a walker.... I can't believe it!!

A Trip to Hestand Kentucky

This is the equipment this community uses to make sorghum molasses. This is a very neat process if you have never seen it before. This year they will be making sorghum molasses starting September 13 and every Saturday thereafter for the next month.










Today we went to see "Dr. Reuben". He thought that Stephen would really benefit from taking very high doses of Vitamin C as well as some other herbs. Stephen is going to try this along with his usual medication that helps to control the medication. This Amish community is a very neat place to visit, a very different way of life than what we are accustomed to....... no electricity, running water, cars, phones,etc. Chloe loved it, she especially liked the horses!!

Daddy's Eyes

Please keep Stephen in your prayers. His eye was bothering him today, so he decided to go on in to see the doctor. His pressure was 18 and 28 (very high). He will see a specialist at Vanderbilt on September 25th and will be taking medicine until that time. The higher the pressure in his eyes, the more vision he loses. The doctor here in Bowling Green feels like he needs more surgery.

A Rough Day

Today has been a rough day for Chloe. We went to see Dr. Stewart for Chloe's nine month check up as well as to re-check her ears. Her ears were clear and looked great!! However, we did not think that Chloe was going to have any shots today...
but, as it turned out, she got a flu shot. She will have to have a second "dose" next month. Making the decision whether or not to vaccinate your child is a very tough choice. I phoned Stephen while we were in the office and we both agreed that we would rather her get the shot and be protected rather than ever she her as sick as she was last year when she was in the hospital. Even so, it is a very big decision.

After she had the shot, we went down to the lab for some routine blood work....Chloe has never been a good "bleeder". Well they were not able to take her blood out of her arm because the tech could not find a vein. Therefore, they had to prick her finger and attempt to squeeze out three vials of blood. Needless to say, it was a terrible experience. They informed me that if the blood was not good, they may have to prick her finger again!! I politely informed them that we would just reschedule for another day. As it turned out, the blood was fine. Chloe is now fast asleep, but is still "whimpering" every now and then. Hopefully she will have sweet dreams and forget all about this horrible experience.

Peek-a-boo

Chloe's favorite game to play now is peek-a-boo. You can watch her as she plays her new game with a kitchen towel.