Our All Stars!

Landon - bottom left

Tanner - Center

Gram

My Gram was a loving, feisty, wonderful woman...she had children, grandchildren and great grands that loved her so much!  At Thanksgiving, after having received a clean bill of health at a check up the week before she developed what they thought was pneumonia.  An x-ray later revealed a mass in her chest cavity that was pressing on her lungs, causing her symptoms.  At that time, her doctor declared that there was nothing he could do, surgery on a 94 year old (even if she would agree to it, which I doubt she would have) would surely do more harm than good and her children took over making sure she was well cared for and loved for what time she had left.  The doctor had supposed that, due to the sheer size of the mass, she probably had 2 weeks to 2 months left.  So began 6 months of love lessons for us grands and our children.  Watching my mother and her siblings love on Gram despite being exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically was such a lesson on selflessness and family...our family will never forget.  I can remember all the many times we would pray for Gram.  Tanner would ask God to not let Gram "get dead" and Landon would ask Him to help Gram feel better.  I just prayed that God would be kind and not allow her to be in pain, to protect her from fear and anxiety and to give her peace...however that came.
On Monday, April 30, my mother called to tell me that they were having a hard time staying ahead of Gram's pain due to the fact that she was having trouble swallowing the pain pills and they had made the hard decision to move her to Beacon Place, a beautiful hospice facility surrounded by lush gardens.  There she could be given IV meds to control her pain.  The transport came at 10am on Tuesday and she was taken without incident to BP.  My mother doesn't think she was even aware of being moved...for which I am thankful!  My aunt Lynne and cousin Gaye spent the first night with her while my mom and her older sister went back to Grams to get a good sleep so that they could take their turn the next day.  I talked with Mom around 8:30am as she was on her way to BP and she said that Lynne and Gaye shared that she had had a peaceful night but had some difficulty breathing.  When my mom arrived, she and Jane said good morning to Gram and then were visiting with one another...a few minutes later they realized that Gram was gone.  My mother is certain that she was breathing when they came in and that it happened some time after she and Jane arrived...almost as if she was waiting for them to get there.  It is so hard to lose someone that was such an integral part of our family, I mean, she started this whole thing, right!? :)  As sad as we are and as much as we will miss her...we are thrilled to know that she is in Heaven with her Lord...and, as my cousin said, able to have a date with her husband who has been gone for 48 years. 

So, I am thankful for having a Gram as wonderful as she was...thankful that my boys were able to know her and love her and be loved by her...thankful that she got to meet little Keaton, her 24th great-grandchild...but most of all...I am thankful she finally got to meet Jesus...she had been waiting to meet Him her whole life!  God is good...even when life, and the end of life, is hard. 

Two Month check up

Keaton Crosby had his 2 month check up today...and as expected...he is following in the Powell boy tradition of being a chunky monkey!  He is actually 10 weeks 2 days old and weighs in at 14lbs 7 oz and is 24 inches long!   He got a clean bill of health and did great with his shots...didn't flinch for the first but made up for it on the second...he was pretty mad!  the boys were impressed with his bandaids...spiderman and ironman...pretty cool!  So, I guess that explains mommy's sore back and arm! :)

Playing catch up!

Seriously, seriously behind on these blog entries!! It is unbelievable how many times I think "this would make a cute entry" or " I have GOT to post this photo" only to have life happen and then not get it done! SO, I am going to back-date and try to include the most exciting recent happenings in the Powell house! Enjoy!

One Month check up!

Took Keaton Crosby for his 1 month check up today! Our precious boy is 10 pounds even and 22 inches long! For reference, at 1 month Landon was 10lbs3oz, Tanner was 13lbs and Mathis was 9lbs, 14oz...so he is right in the middle of things! The doctor was impressed with his head control and how hard he pushed with his little legs and how alert he was...and he was a little tough guy when it came to his shot!! Only cried for a moment and then calmed right down! His doctor did decide to prescribe Zantac for his reflux and we are to monitor how things are going...hopefully it is something he will outgrow once he is able to sit and be upright after feeds. For now, he will get meds twice a day and we will be more dilligent about keeping him upright after he eats! He just gets more adorable every day...we are so in love!

Yikes!

This morning we were up and going like any other Sunday...got to Waffle House around 8 for breakfast and then headed over to church. We had dropped both of the little boys off at their classes and Greg, Keaton and I were taking Landon to his Upstreet class. As Landon gave Keaton a kiss goodbye, he noticed that Keaton had spit up...a LOT! We headed out into the hallway where we quickly discovered exactly how much he had lost...and the peculiar thing was the color...bright yellow. Being a strictly breastfed baby, it was a little strange that he was spitting up at all, but add the fact that it seemed he was spitting up stomach bile and that was a little disconcerting...so we called the nurse helpline at CHOA. Once she realized he was only 4weeks/4days she suggested we proceed to the ER immediately. If that won't stop you dead in your tracks...I don't know what will!

It seems that it is fairly common at 1 month to discover something called Pylorus Stenosis (totally unsure of the spelling). Basically, it is the muscle that separates the stomach and the small intestine...and sometimes it can become too strong or tight and prevent the passing of food from the stomach to the intestines, resulting in excessive vomiting. It is not uncommon and so when the nurse heard his age and what had happened, she may have gotten a little over excited. It turns out that he is completely fine and is having the normal passing of his milk, but he does have reflux and is very gassy, which could explain why he tends to cry fairly religiously after feeds. So, I was instructed to be liberal with the gas drops and ask his pediatrician about reflux meds at his 1 month check up on Monday.

We are so thankful that he is fine...but doesn't he look adorable in his little hospital gown?! :)

1 week check up

Sweet baby Keaton is one week old!   At his one week well check today he weighed 7lbs 12 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long!  He is gaining appropriately and all his parts seem to be just perfect. He is still sporting his umbilical cord (which is looking pretty gross at this point) and his plastibel (circ) is just before coming off.  All in all...a very healthy and incredibly adorable baby boy!

He's here!!

Our sweet P4 was born Tuesday, February 14th...and we are in love! He is totally healthy and beautiful and just the sweetest baby! Although the epidural process was pretty intense, the actual delivery went very smoothly and the doctor even remarked that she was expecting more scarring and adhesions due to this being my 4th c-section...so we are so thankful!

Although he has a look very much his own, it is easy to see some of Tanner in him! He has the lightest brown, almost strawberry blonde hair and big bright blue eyes and the whitest little eybrows! We are completely smitten...as are the boys!

We still have not decided on a name, but will share as soon as we have. We just wanted to share God's faithfulness in the birth of his precious boy..Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes...we so appreciate them and you! :)

Valentines day it is...

When we realized that we would have a February birth, I was secretly hoping to be able to make it til leap year (my birthday). When we found out we were having a boy, I jokingly said I hoped that his birthday would not be Valentines day (too much pressure), well...Man makes plans and God laughs! I went to my very last OB appt. today with Mathis in tow and expected a 10 minute, urine/blood pressure check, measurement of the (humongous) belly and listening to the heartbeat...what I got was something entirely different. My blood pressure was 140/90 which is extremely high for me...and I had sugar in my urine which is not a good thing...due to these two things my doctor decided he should check my cervix and discovered that it was shortening and thinning out. His advice was to deliver immediately since there was no way that I was going to make it to Monday.

As you may remember, my mother has been in NC with my grandmother for the better part of the past 2 1/2 weeks and was planning to come home today anyway, so when I called her and told her that we had been encouraged to deliver today or tomorrow she hit the road...I am so thankful!! She is spending the night and is going to get the little boys to my sweet neighbor's house so she can take them to school (they wanted to go to their valentines parties) and will then bring Landon with her to the hospital so they can see me before I deliver at 9:45. When I asked Landon if he wanted to go to school or the hospital he told me "meeting my new brother is more important than a valentines party!" (My sweet boy) They will be there to hear when P4 is born and then my sister will take Landon to his school around 11 so that he, too, can do his valentines party and surprise Tanner by joining him for his party. Mathis' party is not a parents invited party, but more of a card exchange, so once Tanner's party is done, they will get Mathis and then Landon and head down to the hospital to meet their newest family member!!

I have to say - this day has been completely overwhelming and a little out of control, but thanks to my neighbor Lisa, my mom, Greg and many others stepping up and offering help all over the place, I feel a little more settled about going in in the morning!

Please pray that P4 stays safe and healthy until he is delivered and that he will not have any adverse blood sugar issues. Please also pray that my boys remember how much they are loved, even though we will be crazy over the next few days...and of course, that we will just be protected and trust God's hand in this!!

We'll post photos as soon as we have them!! Thanks!

Maternity shots

Greg and I were taking a few weeks ago about, in all likelihood, this being my last pregnancy...it is kind of a melancholy time for me, as I love being pregnant. I'm not sure if it is the addition of the stress of home reconstruction or my age or the sudden lack of running or sadness about this being our last baby or what, but I have not been the nicest mommy/wife over these past few months. Tired, grumpy, short tempered...I am praying that things return to normal when the house is done, I can get back to being active and this little boy is in our arms instead of in my tummy...I miss me and I am fairly certain Greg and the boys do too!!

Anywhoo, the very next night I went to a girls night with the Sole Sisters, my running club from the Y. During the evening, one of my friends Marchet, who is a photographer, approached me about helping her build her portfolio with some maternity shots...coincidence? I think not! :) I have seen her work and was thrilled to agree! When I was about 35 weeks pregnant, she came to the house one morning while the boys were at school on an unseasonably warm day and got some really fun photos of just me with my u/s photos, a dear willow tree figurine that my mother had given me when I found out I was preg with Landon and just me hanging out in the back yard...while I typically HATE having my picture taken, it was fun, because it was my friend and we were just chatting it up the whole time...and truth be told, I really love the shots she got! One if the shots I really wanted was a photo of the boys with their hands on my tummy...hugging their new little brother already, so she agreed to come by the following Wed night to get a family portrait. So, never let it be said that my children don't like to make things interesting...especially when we have pictures made! But Marchet, who has a pre-K aged son, was unruffled (wish I could say the same for me), and ended up getting some of the best shots of my boys with their little personalities shining through! We are so thankful to have these shots of my 3 sons and my big belly...thank you Marchet. The link is below, though I think it is only good until Feb 11, but take a look and check out my cuties! :) http://butlerfamilyphotography.smugmug.com/Category/Kristen-Maternity/21222718_ChKGBD#!i=1689237716&k=Q4VCWKt Password is: babyboyfour
Thank you again Marchet!!
Counting down the days...

The BEST surprise!

I love surprise parties...I love throwing them and watching the reaction of the person of honor...today...I got to see what it's like to be on the other side of things! :) My dear friend Lisa, and my awesome running girls, the Sole Sisters, with the help of my husband, totally shocked and stunned me today when I went to Lisa's to drop off her son Eli after baseball assessments. Since our laundry room still isn't completed, I had asked Lisa if I could bring a load over to wash sometime this weekend. So in I walked, sweaty from being at the ball field and lugging a big bag of laundry in one hand, laundry detergent in the other and spotted OUR babysitter in her kitchen. I truly was confused and asked Lynda what she was doing there...when everyone jumped out and yelled surprise!! What?!?! It was so fun!! I was mortified that I was so gross and sweaty but was SO excited to see my sisters and several other friends that are so important to me! I literally had to turn around and walk out for a second b/c it was so overwhelming and it would have been so cliche' for the pregnant lady to cry! When I walked out on the porch up drives my mom and sister!!! (Believe it or not...I was actually EARLY...that NEVER happens! So I surprised them a little too!) It was the MOST fun! :) We had so much fun visiting and eating yummy food, drinking delicious (alcohol free) mojitos and martinis, and an adorable cake complete with a cute little modeling chocolate baby! Seriously...it was the best surprise! I felt so blessed and loved and so thankful for these special women in my life!! AND, on top of all that...we had some fun games (it truly wouldn't have been a party without the competition factor) and little P4 (and I) got SPOILED!! Adorable outfits, blankets, monitors, many books and enough on a gift card to update the family truckster (Greg about choked when I mentioned that I would like to get a new stroller for the new baby, mainly because we have already had 10 strollers, but I am psyched to get a new one that will take the infant car seat as a travel system). Truly spoiled!! One of the best things was a package of diapers that everyone put funny sayings on - examples - (my fav - "it's Daddy's turn!", "it's a good thing I'm so cute" etc) really fun idea!! I did get reprimanded to peeking at them, as they are supposed to give me some late night humor as I am sleep deprived, but I just couldn't resist!
I am so thankful for my friends who show me constantly what it means to encourage, admonish in love and just be silly together...building each other up and sincerely and so selflessly showing me what friendship means!! Thank you also to my mom for driving home from NC to be there...it wouldn't have been the same without you there...and thank you so much for making P4 his very own nonnies (blankets - she makes them for all her grands!)!! Thank you to my sister for driving through 2 time zones and customs to be here (well, actually Powder Springs, but same difference) and bringing her daughter to celebrate too! Thank you to our wonderful friend and sitter Lynda for caring for not only my boys, but my sister's son too! Thank you to Trina, Holly, Deborah and especially Lisa for hosting and being the best hostesses, caterers and game masters! It was such a special day...and as a special bonus...I also got to wash my laundry! :) You girls are the best and I am so blessed. Thank you!!

Another visit...

from the tooth fairy! This time she was coming for 3 teeth, and she left a $2 bill and a gold $1 coin for each! $9...can you believe it?! Maybe she felt sorry for him having to have them pulled because I am pretty sure the most I ever got as a kid was $1! :) So happy he is happy!

Landon did great!!

Landon was a champ today!! I met him at school for lunch and then we headed over to Lynda's house (our wonderful sitter who so graciously offered her washer and dryer during the time we are without ours). He watched Cars2 while I did laundry and then it was time to go...he got a little nervous but was doing fine. When we arrived at the dentist office there was a film crew filming...and Christy seemed surprised that I didn't have all 3 boys with me...I think she was intending to have our boys in her video, which is fun! :) My sweet neighbor Lisa, who had the little boys, offered to bring them to the office and Tanner and her sweet daughter got to be in the filming! Very exciting! Actually, the delay and having the boys present seemed to calm Landon and when they finally came to get him for the procedure, he seemed pretty relaxed (well except for when Tanner grabbed Landon and said "Don't be scared Landon...I'll be praying for you!"). All in all, it only took about 30-40 minutes and out he came biting on some gauze. He was pretty chill about it and seemed only mildly bothered by the procedure. I was so very proud of him!! He looks like such a big boy now...and the cutest thing was how excited Tanner was to see his missing teeth! And, he kept saying "I am so proud of you brother...you did so great!" So we will see what happens tonight...Landon thinks that certainly the tooth fairy will reward the unconventional way his teeth were lost with big bucks...I told him I hoped he would get anything since he didn't really lose his teeth the conventional way! :) We shall see! I'll post some photos so you can see our cute little toothless wonder! Thank you for your prayers...they worked!

Landon's big day

is tomorrow! For what, you ask? Tomorrow is the day that he will finally lose his second, third and fourth teeth. You may remember that he was knocked in the mouth a couple of months ago. He lost one of the bottom teeth within a month, but the second one is still hanging on for dear life...and will be, it seems for the duration. His big boy tooth got tired of waiting and decided to just grow in behind the baby tooth (aka shark tooth) so at this point there is nothing to continue pushing the baby tooth out and it will have to be pulled. Additionally, at our regular 6 month check at the dentist, she revealed that Landon's big boy teeth on the top are so very large compared to his baby teeth that one of his front teeth is actually sideways! Although they are just the teeny tiniest bit loose, she reccommended going ahead and pulling them to hopefully create a little room for them to drop and hopefully rotate into place. Also, by them having room to drop, they will also help loosen the next two teeth on the sides. Obviously, braces are most likely in our future, but after talking with our small group leader, who is also an oral surgeon, we feel like we are making the right decision to go ahead and extract the teeth. So tomorrow is the day!! I think he is a little nervous...but truth be told, I am sooo sad that we have to do this! I am trying to be positive and encouraging...but ugh...I hate it! So, tomorrow, in addition to spending the morning doing laundry at our dear friend and sitter Lynda's house (no, the laundry STILL isn't done and more than that, they aren't even working tomorrow b/c the contractor didn't schedule the drywall until Wed...ugh!), I'll meet Landon for lunch and then take him with me and on to the dentist. Please say a prayer that he won't be too afraid and that it won't hurt him too badly...I won't be able to go back with him, so I am just praying for peace for his little heart. Please pray for Christy (our dentist and friend), that she would have steady hands and be able to comfort him the way I would if I could be there in the room. We'll post pictures of our adorable toothless wonder when we can!!

A first date?!

For the past 10 years I have been meeting with some of the girls from my old single girls small group several times throughout the year for breakfast and toes. As we have all moved from singles, to marrieds, to mommies....and some to other states...these visits have served as a way to touch base and keep in touch even in the busyness of life and I love and look forward to them! Our January meeting is always to celebrate sweet Lila's birthday...but this year we also needed to be sure that she had pretty toes for her baby girl's delivery day on January 25! Unfortunately, a sick child prevented Rebecca from joining us, but Lila needed pretty toes, so we met for breakfast at J. Christophers anyway! When I arrived, the host took great joy (and pride) in telling me that Lila had been "expecting" me...it was so corny...in an endearing way! :) He had a couple other little quips that were also funny, but they escape me right now (shocker-I have no memory to speak of these days!) We had a great breakfast and even got some fun photos...9 days before her due date and 1 month before mine...might they one day grace a rehearsal dinner table? :) We can only hope! Love you Lila...so thankful for you and your friendship these past 10 years!!

What were we thinking!?

Yesterday started what we hope is a 2-3 week renovation of our laundry room...yes, I am just about 34 weeks pregnant at this point...so we are sincerely hoping that our contractors can stick by the schedule they provided at the beginning!! In talking with builder Bob (yes...his name is Bob and, of course, the boys started calling him Bob the builder!) yesterday, he is pretty sure that they can be done and gone from the upstairs of our house by the beginning of Feb...which would be wonderful!! Why do we need a reno of a 5 year old house's laundry room you ask? Well, when we bought the house, I had to give up my dream of a sink in the laundry room. For the size of our house, the laundry room makes absolutely NO sense! It truly is the size of a small walk in closet with just barely enough room for the washer/dryer and a small laundry bin. When we realized we were expecting another boy...we realized that we would need a larger capacity washer/dryer that was much more energy (and time) efficient. The problem was, there was NO way to have any larger unit installed in our current laundry due to the layout. If we could even get them in there, we would not be able to close the door...and the boys would have to fall asleep to the music of the spin cycle and overall clasps clanging in the dryer. Additionally, I could just see me trying to soak 3 pairs of baseball pants AND dirty bibs/diapers/burp cloths in the bathroom sinks...and it did not look pretty!! Not only are the sinks too small to hold more than 2 to 3 items at a time, but now they both are used for teeth brushing and I didn't want the boys brushing teeth in a sink which just a few hours ago contained bleach and soiled clothes. So resurfaced my dream of a sink in my laundry room. Our builder also included a large, but ill-designed, walk-in linen closet in the hall next to the laundry...and I guess my high school drafting class came flooding back and I could just envision what could be! So, after many months, we have finally begun the process or relocating the roof support that currently sits on the wall that we will be demolished to combine both spaces into (drum roll please) a laundry room large enough for a super + capacity wash set AND a large laundry sink!!! (and the crowd goes wild!) It may sound like a silly request, maybe a little frivolous to some, but to the person that spends hours a day in that little room...it sounds like heaven! I cannot wait! I'll have to post pictures of the before and after so you can celebrate with me!

The other project being tackled is a large attic space off the boys' closet. Right now, it is wide open, unconditioned (no HVAC or insulation and has a screened vent to the outdoors) and though we have an exterior type door separating the closet from this space, there is a significant difference in air temp in the boys room and closet...and their room is typically about 3 degrees colder than the rest of the upstairs in the winter and hot as blazes in the summer! Overall, the space measures around 12x12, but with the gabled roof, the "usable space" is more like 12x7.5. We are having it insulated and drywalled and carpeted and the vent altered so that there is still proper ventilation through the ridge vent but we can seal off the open vent to control the temp a little better. The "conditioned area right off the closet will become a little "play room" with plenty of built in shelving that they can feel comfortable playing Lego's in and not worry about the baby "eating" them! :) In time, it will also serve as a "study nook" so that those that need to go to bed can, and those that still have studying to do can close the door and finish their work. We may change our minds later, but the intention is to have all the boys in the same room. We really enjoy having a guest room for guests and the big boys already share a room and do great and Mathis is chomping at the bit to join them...so instead of having 2 twin beds, we will have 2 sets of bunks! And I truly believe that it is fine for kids to share a room - it may even foster a closer relationship! The times we have camped outside their door to listen to their night-time conversations are wonderful memories...and it is fun to hear them dreaming and laughing together!

So please say a prayer that all goes smoothly (and quickly) and that little No Name can stay put until it is completed and we can make sure all the drywall dust has settled (and been vaccuumed away!). Can't wait to share before and after photos!

Take great care!!

What's in a name?

Here we are at the 32+ week mark and still no closer to a name for this precious boy! I am not kidding when I say that I have had many, many sleepless nights over this!! If we had known then that we would have a 4Th boy coming, we might have saved Mathis' middle name, Cooper, for the last one. Every person in our family seems to have their own idea of a perfect name (some people have more than one entry...) and though all of them sound great with our last name and listed with the other boys' names, we are not totally sold on any of them! For those of you that have known us for a while, you may remember that we like two syllable names that contain 6 letters (just the first name...the middle name doesn't have as many rules). So, for now, this baby is just sweet little No Name...or as my parents have named him, little Almost (6 letters/2 syllables)! :)
We have mentioned a few of the options to some close friends and family members and have gotten mixed reviews...the funniest remarks were "that's a dog's name" and "no, not that one...that is awful" (yes, people REALLY said that!) so we are left scratching our heads and praying that God will reveal this boy's name sooner rather than later! Worst case scenario, we will take our list to the hospital with us and wait to see that sweet face to make a decision. Until then...if you have any suggestions, feel free to share, we could use a little help! :) But don't forget - 6 letters/2 syllables! :)
Happy New Year and God Bless!!