Good evening all,

Today has been an incredibly long, but yet another wonderful day. We got up this morning and were told we would be discharged so we started getting ready for that, we got all packed up and they came and took out my staples(that hurt), my mom is here for a few day, and my aunt susie is here today too. We loaded everything into the car.....well i supervised of course :) and then by the time we got all done with that the NICU was closed. They closed from 12:30-1:30 during the day, so by that time I had not gotten to see my sweet boy and was having with drawls, anyway we decided to come on to the apartment and unload stuff and then by the time we got done the NICU would be back open and we would go see Parker. On our way to the apt, we got a phone call from our friends Jason and Shae Walton and their children Eli and Brooke, they had been in Chattanooga this week for some training for Jason's job and they decided to come see us on their way home. They also brought us lunch and it was so good, and we appreciated it to because we were hungry :) We had a good little visit at our apt, the all headed for the NICU, Landon and I went on back and Jason and Shae ran an errand, when we met back up with them they had bought us this stuffed "aubie" tiger for Parker, and had given us a notebook to write our thoughts down in, in that notebook they also wrote Parker a sweet little note, they are good friends. Landon and I walked into the unit with a nice surprise today, since we have been there they have had these little glasses covering Parker's face, and with his face taped and tubes, we really haven't gotten to see what he looks like much, well today when we walked in the nurses were at his isolette and they said "oh we are glad yall are here, we are changing some tape and have his glasses off and he's awake so come see him" Well I walked over to the isolette and that sweet baby was laying there eyes open looking right at us, when I saw his sweet face looking at me, I didn't think it was possible to love him anymore, but I fell in love even more, of course I started to cry like a baby and talk to him and he just laid there looking at us....I told our friends today, everytime I go in there he probably says to himself "There's that lady again that cries all the time" :) But it was the most precious sweetest face I have ever seen in my life.....Indescribable! We had been calling that morning to check on him and they had told us that they had taken him off of the "jet" vent, so we were anxious to know about his blood work that indicates how well he is breathing. The nurses told us that he was doing very well, and his blood work looked great. They still had the jet vent sitting beside his bed in case he had to go back on it. They said if his next blood work looked that good they would be moving it back where it belongs. They also said he had 2 more bowel movement this morning and had eaten 1/2 cc of breast milk. Well we stayed sitting there with him until time to close again and as we were leaving they checked his blood work again....it was also wonderful, so they moved the jet out of Parker's room and back where it goes!!! YAY!! I took a picture as she was wheeling that thing away, Although a wonderful life-saving machine, I was glad to see it go! They also checked to see if he had digested the 3cc of breast milk they had given 3 hours prior, and they didn't get a drop back, so he is eating and digesting too!!! We were so happy we couldn't stand it. Also I got to change my first diaper today, they really encourage the parents to participate in the care of the preemies, so we jumped right in, I changed a poopy diaper, and Landon checked him temperature, it was so nice to be able to do something for him. After that we headed out b/c they also close from 6pm-8pm. We left and headed to Wal-Mart, the nurses wanted us to bring in a few things for him, they wanted us to bring in some receiving blankets, that we had kept with us a few days, so they could put them in his isolette with him and it would have our scent on them. They wanted us to bring a digital recorder with each of our voices reading him stories, so that when they are closed or at night when we are not there, he thinks we are b/c he can hear our voices, and they wanted a stuffed animal, that they wrap in seran wrap and keep for him to get attached to, so we went to get those things and had a real good time not only spending some time together, but getting to pick out some stuff for our baby. We went back to the NICU after that and had some more visitors. My aunt and uncle Todd and Lynn Grigsby came to visit, Landon and I each took turns taking them back to see Parker, and really enjoyed getting to see them. Lynn has already decided that she is Parker's favorite, and she claims he told her he wanted her to hold him :) Anyway, we all left, they went back home and after stopping at Krispy Kreme(b/c Landon says he couldn't resist the HOT sign) we are at the apartment and are now going to bed....It has been a wonderful day again today. Please continue to pray for our sweet baby, I can never thank all of you enough for all the prayers, but am convinced that is what is getting him through, so please keep them coming. Have a good night everyone!