Well hello everyone...
OK,so the last post that was posted on here was from November of 2009, right after we brought our sweet boy home from the hospital. Boy, has our lives changed since then. In fact we stay so busy I haven't had time to keep updating the blog. However, we are now in the process of making some major life changing decisions and so I decided to take this time to update what's been going on the last two years of our life and also talk about the new changes coming up.
So November for us was kind of a blur, we had this tiny 4lb baby and didn't really have the first clue what to do with him. The strict Nicu schedule was so ingrained in us that we continued on that. We would take shifts getting up with Parker every 3 hours to feed him, change him, swaddle him and put him back to bed. With a preemie it is so very important for them to get as much sleep as possible so they are storing their food for fat instead of burning it off since they have so much catch up growth to do. Once we arrived home, the hand washing rituals, and germ phobia continued. In fact we put a big sign on the door that read, sorry if you want to visit but our tiny baby is still so small and susceptible to infections that we will only allow grandparents in our house. So basically see you in the spring! Everyone was extremely understanding and respected our wishes. We decided that this holiday season we really wanted to be surrounded by our family and friends since we had been in seclusion and 2 hours away for so long. We did go to our family get togethers for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we just didn't let a soul touch Parker. We said you can look at him only HA! It was nice to have some home cooking and be back among the land of the living again and not in a hospital setting day in and day out. With that said we also went through sort of a grieving process as far as our NICU family goes. You have to remember that for 3 whole months we were with the staff of baptist hospital nicu for hours on end every single day. These precious people became not only our child's caregiver, but our friends and most importantly they became our family. We made bonds that will last a lifetime and had a really hard time not having them around anymore. We really missed them. For the most part things were going well except that Parker seemed to just be very irritable all the time and became increasingly upset when it was time for him to eat, we charged through thinking he was just having a tough time adjusting to being in an new environment. My mother in law stayed for nights on end with us and my mom would come from time to time and help out too. Christmas time came and I was so excited to dress Parker is his little My First Christmas Pj's and hang his first ornament on the tree. The things that are really fun once you have a child, the things at one time in my life I feared would never be a possibility for Landon and I. We woke up on Christmas morning just the three of us and we unwrapped gifts and we laughed and played and took tons of pictures and were just so absolutely thankful for our miracle baby. He was still so tiny and fragile and innocent and looked at us with the sweetest face I had ever seen. Knowing what all he had been through those past 3 months and now here he was, waking up on Christmas morning in our home with us. We couldn't have been happier. During the nights of feeding Parker was still having a lot of feeding trouble, he would shake his head back and forth and he would cry and cry. It would take sometime an hour just to get 2 ounces of milk down him. He was very gassy and constipated often. We would all take turns feeding him b/c the task was just so truly exhausting. We would walk all around the house, bouncing, singing, squeezing the bottle, just anything to help him to eat. Still having the feeding problems, the doctors had noticed that Parker was tongue tied, we thought YES! we had solved the riddle. That's why he was having trouble eating! So we went into the hospital for a minor surgery called a frenulectomy(where they cut the flap of skin under the tongue). With no luck from that and him still not eating, we went back and forth to the doctor several times and on one appointment we were addressed with the possibility of Parker maybe needing a Gastrostomy Tube in order to get his nutrition if he wasn't able to eat for whatever reason. We mutually disagreed instantly! We knew our baby could eat, we had seen it first hand. We were outraged that Dr. Crenshaw would even mention such a thing! In actuality, we were in denial, and would later find out, she was exactly right! After Christmas, Dr. Crenshaw suggested if we didn't want to go the G-tube route, maybe we could place an OG tube down Parker's mouth and into his stomach "Just when we needed to" to give him a little extra to help him gain weight. I being a nurse agreed that I could do it with no problem and so that is what began. We would try to get him to drink as much as we could by mouth, then at that point we would put his paci in his mouth and without him even knowing it we would slip a tiny tube into his mouth, down his throat, and into his stomach. I would then insert a little air with a syringe and listen to his stomach with my stethoscope to make sure it was in the right place and we would push in his milk. January came and we went from doing the OG feeding once a day, to twice a day, to three times a day, until all of Parker's feeding starting becoming by tube b/c he simply would not suck a bottle. When we would tell people this they would look at us like we were crazy and they would say things like "Well that don't make no sense" or "Oh, if he gets hungry enough, he'll eat" But that wasn't the case. He wasn't eating, he wasn't pooping, and most importantly he wasn't gaining weight. And the easy process of sliding the tube down had went from him not even knowing it was happening, to it becoming a horrible traumatic event that usually resulted in gagging and vomiting and crying by not only Parker but the person having to do this horrible thing to him. The days and nights grew increasingly stressful and filled with tears and changing from bottle to bottle, nipple to nipple, modifying nipples, you name it, b/c basically our child was wasting away in front of us. February came and Landon was working a set of night shifts, he came home one morning and I was upstairs with Parker and at the end of my rope. 3 months of no sleep and a screaming, hungry baby that for some reason wouldn't eat had taken it's toll on us all. At this point my whole day consisted of Parker screaming and crying and curling up in a ball as though in pain and not eating at all. We proceeded to slip the tube down and give him his nutrition. The gagging and crying began, proceeded by throwing up all we were trying to get him to keep down. Landon said and I quote "That's it damn it!" We can not keep doing this to this baby. I agreed and we packed our bags and without another moments thought we loaded Parker in the car and drove straight to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. We walked right into the ER and basically begged for help. We said there is something wrong with our baby and we don't know what. The doctors at home don't know what and we cant do this anymore. We need some help and we are not going home until we have some answers! And boy did we get answers and a lot more. That hospital trip changed our life and the way we "thought" we were going to live it. They admitted Parker immediately and began running tests. We had blood work, swallowing studies, Upper and lower GI studies. You name it and they did it. During this stay we found out that Parker had a number of things going on and they were all working together and causing eating impossible for him. #1, he had a milk protein allergy that was causing him to be in constant pain- so he went from breast milk to a new formula that costs $50 a can. #2 he had a right sided weakness that affected the whole right side of his body including his tongue, causing it to be weaker than the left, so therefore he was unable to manage sucking, swallowing, and breathing all at the same time. #3 He was very constipated and we had been having to use a suppository every time he needed to poop, so basically he didn't know how to actually push the poop out, so that had to be stopped so that he could basically learn how to get it out. At this time the doctors discussed with us again the need for a G-tube. Knowing all of the facts this time we readily agreed and they prepared Parker for surgery. This was extremely scary since once again he had to be put to sleep and only weighed about 5-6 pounds. Luckily our friend Hope worked in recovery and was there with us the whole time. The surgery went good and our little man came out with a g-tube. Suddenly we were learning how to care for it, feeding him with syringes and tubes, calling and talking with home health places so we could try and find someone where in Florence Alabama that we could get our milk and supplies from. Almost instantly, with the change from breast milk to formula we had a new baby. 2 days after starting on the new milk protein free formula our baby boy smiled for the first time! He was actually happy for the first time ever! I can't explain what that feels like. For the child that has suffered from the day he arrived to look up at you and smile is just priceless! We returned home and quickly began all typed of different therapies. We had feeding, speech, occupational, physical, they all came to our house and worked with us and Parker. April came and we took Parker to church for the first time on Easter. Everyone that had been praying so hard for him finally got to meet him. After church we took Parker to visit his sister's grave for the first time. We planted tulip bulbs beside her stone. By now we were in the swing of things and trucking right along with the G-tube. We were working with therapists on strengthening his tongue so he could suck all the while, just using the gtube for nourishment. Parker was gaining weight great and we had a happy and for the most part healthy little boy. As the months went by we started noticing little by little how Parker would not look at us in the eye much. I immediately started looking and up and researching on autism. He would respond and laugh and play, but he would not make eye contact hardly at all. In May we went back to Nashville for an eye appointment with one of the leading doctors with the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Dr. Donahue. On this appointment I went alone with Parker b/c Landon had to work. The doctor came in and looked at his eye, did a few tests and told me what he was about to discuss with me was gonna sound scary and he really would prefer me to not go look it up on the Internet(which of course is the first thing i did). He said Parker appeared to have what is know as CVI or cortical visual impairment or cortical blindness. He said that they really don't give this diagnosis while they are this young, so he wasn't "technically" saying that he had this, however that is what it appeared to be. Basically CVI isn't an eye problem at all, its a brain problem. Here are some facts......
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is diagnosed when children show abnormal visual responses that aren’t caused by the eyes themselves. When CVI is suspected, fixation and following—even to intense stimulation—may be poor, and the child will not respond normally to people's faces.
CVI is the most common cause of permanent visual impairment in children.
Accompanying features of CVI include cerebral palsy and developmental delays.
In many cases, partial recovery of vision is possible.
Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is a form of visual impairment that is caused by a brain problem rather than an eye problem. (The latter is sometimes termed "ocular visual impairment" when discussed in contrast to cortical visual impairment.) Some people have both CVI and a form of ocular visual impairment.
CVI is also sometimes known as cortical blindness, although most people with CVI are not totally blind. The term neurological visual impairment (NVI) covers both CVI and total cortical blindness. Delayed visual maturation, another form of NVI, is similar to CVI, except the child's visual difficulties resolve in a few months. Though the vision of a person with CVI may change, it rarely if ever becomes totally normal.
The major causes of CVI are as follows: asphyxia, hypoxia (a lack of sufficient oxygen in the body’s blood cells), or ischemia (not enough blood supply to the brain), all of which may occur during the birth process; developmental brain defects; head injury; hydrocephalus (when the cerebrospinal fluid does not circulate properly around the brain, and collects in the head, putting pressure on the brain); a stroke involving the occipital lobe; and infections of the central nervous system, such as meningitis and encephalitis.
Symptoms of CVI usually include several (but not necessarily all) of the following:
The person with CVI exhibits variable vision. Visual ability can change from one day to the next but it can also fluctuate from minute to minute, especially when the person is tired. When undertaking critical activities, people with CVI should be prepared for their vision to fluctuate, by taking precautions such as always carrying a white cane even if they don't always use it to the full, or always having very large print available, just in case it's needed. (For example, consider the consequences of losing vision while giving a public speech). Managing fatigue can reduce fluctuations but does not eliminate them.
One eye may perform significantly worse than the other, and depth perception can be very limited (although not necessarily zero).
The field of view may be severely limited. The best vision might be in the centre (like tunnel vision) but more often it is at some other point, and it is difficult to tell what the person is really looking at. Note that if the person also has a common ocular visual impairment such as nystagmus then this can also affect which part(s) of the visual field are best. (Sometimes there exists a certain gaze direction which minimises the nystagmus, called a "null point.")
Even though the field of view may be very narrow indeed, it is often possible for the person to detect and track movement. Movement is handled by the 'V5' part of the visual cortex, which may have escaped the damage. Sometimes a moving object can be seen better than a stationary one; at other times the person can sense movement but cannot identify what is moving. (This can be annoying if the movement is prolonged, and to escape the annoyance the person may have to either gaze right at the movement or else obscure it.) Sometimes it is possible for a person with CVI to see things while moving their gaze around that they didn't detect when stationary. However, movement that is too fast can be hard to track; some people find that fast-moving objects "disappear." Materials with reflective properties, which can simulate movement, may be easier for a person with CVI to see. However, too many reflections can be confusing (see cognitive overload).
Some objects may be easier to see than others. For example, the person may have difficulty recognising faces or facial expressions but have fewer problems with written materials. This is presumably due to the different way that the brain processes different things.
Colour and contrast are important. The brain's colour processing is distributed in such a way that it is more difficult to damage, so people with CVI usually retain full perception of colour. This can be used to advantage by colour-coding objects that might be hard to identify otherwise. Sometimes yellow and red objects are easier to see, as long as this does not result in poor contrast between the object and the background.
People with CVI strongly prefer a simplified view. When dealing with text, for example, the person might prefer to see only a small amount of it at once. People with CVI frequently hold text close to their eyes, both to make the text appear larger and to minimise the amount they must look at. This also ensures that important things such as letters are not completely hidden behind any scotomas (small defects in parts of the functioning visual field), and reduces the chances of getting lost in the text. However, the simplification of the view should not be done in such a way that it requires too rapid a movement to navigate around a large document, since too much motion can cause other problems (see above).
In viewing an array of objects, people with CVI can more easily see them if they only have to look at one or two at a time. People with CVI also see familiar objects more easily than new ones. Placing objects against a plain background also makes them easier for the person with CVI to see.
For the same reason (simplified view), the person may also dislike crowded rooms and other situations where their functioning is dependent on making sense of a lot of visual 'clutter'.
Visual processing can take a lot of effort. Often the person has to make a conscious choice about how to divide mental effort between making sense of visual data and performing other tasks. For some people, maintaining eye contact is difficult, which can create problems in Western culture (for example, bonding can be difficult for some parents who have an infant with CVI, and lack of contact in an older child can cause others to regard him or her with suspicion[1]).
It can also be difficult for some people with CVI to look at an object and reach for it at the same time. Looking and reaching are sometimes accomplished as two separate acts: look, then look away and reach.
People with CVI can sometimes benefit from a form of blindsight, which manifests itself as a kind of awareness of one's surroundings that cannot consciously be explained (for example, the person correctly guesses what they should do in order to avoid an obstacle but does not actually see that obstacle). However, this cannot be relied on to work all the time. In contrast, some people with CVI exhibit spatial difficulties and may have trouble moving about in their environment.
Approximately one third of people with CVI have some photophobia. It can take longer than usual to adjust to large changes in light level, and flash photography can be painful. On the other hand, CVI can also in some cases cause a desire to gaze compulsively at light sources, including such things as candle flames and fluorescent overhead lights. The use of good task lighting (especially low-temperature lamps which can be placed at very close range) is often beneficial.
Although people (with or without CVI) generally assume that they see things as they really are, in reality the brain may be doing a certain amount of guessing and "filling in", which is why people sometimes think they see things that turn out on closer inspection not to be what they seemed. This can occur more frequently when a person has CVI. Hence, a person with CVI can look at an optical illusion or abstract picture and perceive something that is significantly different from what a person without CVI will perceive.
We went home and of course read everything possible on the subject and he wanted to see us again in 3 months to see if the vision seemed to be improving. August came and it was time for my sweet baby to turn 1!! By this point Parker would eat some baby food and drink little sips but would gag and throw up a lot b/c he could not manage things in his mouth very well and it would sit on his tongue and gag him. We were still in the throws of therapy of some kind 5 days a week. And along with the trials we were faced with were just happy to have such a joyful child that brought unmeasurable happiness to our lives. We went back to Vanderbilt Eye Institute this month and was told at this visit that he was pretty sure Parker did indeed have CVI. This news was extremely hard and we went through a period of grieving for Parker's vision. This may seem silly, but getting handed the fact that your baby may never look into your eyes, or ride a bike, or read a book is a hard note to swallow. But we would cry one minute and laugh the next. We were angry one minute and then thankful that it was something like vision and not something worse. It became evident that the emotional roller coaster the NICU warned us about didn't just stop when you step outside the hospital walls.
We celebrated Parker's 1st birthday at the splash pad. We played in the water and ate cake and ice cream and had almost 100 people in attendance. Everyone showed up to wish this little miracle a happy birthday. Once again the tears came when we sang happy birthday to him. He "tasted" cake, but mostly made a mess of it and I loved every minute of it. I just couldn't believe that he was actually here and was already a year old. I can't stress enough how much we love this baby!
September came and we were happy and settled in our little routine. And we suddenly got a big huge surprise that completely blind sided us and knocked us off our feet. Little did we know at the time in 9 months we would call him Graham. After Parker I had had an IUD placed as my method for birth control. Since I have a blood clotting disorder that is the only option except for something permanent. The IUD was suppose to be 99.9% effective in preventing pregnancies for 10 years. We had decided that with all of my problems with Parker we didn't want to get pregnant again b/c the risks were too high and it was extremely hard on my body.
I had had a period in August only it was a little different, it only lasted 3 days, and it was very light. I thought nothing of it. B/c of my clotting disorder and the fact that I have to take blood thinner I have to take a pregnancy test monthly b/c just in an extremely rare case that I was to become pregnant I would have to stop taking my medicine b/c they can cause birth defects. So......I had just said goodbye and goodnight to Emily(my best friend)she had been hanging out over at my house that night while Landon was at work. I went to the bathroom and remembered it was time for my monthly test that was always negative. Only this time it was positive! And I'll admit I freaked out, I called Landon sobbing and then I called Emily and made her come back over here and take a test too HA! When hers was negative I called my OB's on call doctor and started explaining my extensive history and how I had this IUD. She instructed me to be at the office at 8a.m in Nashville the next morning. I called Landon back and was still sobbing, "What are we gonna do?" "We can't have another baby" "Parker isn't even crawling yet" I was hysterical. Landon calmed me down like he always does and I attempted to go to sleep. The next morning Landon came home and we headed to Nashville. The ultrasound confirmed that we were indeed pregnant and so did my OB, his exact words were "I'm starting to believe you are the exception to every rule" He did blood work and ordered it stat and we went to lunch to kill some time until it came back. That afternoon he called us back into his office and told us that #1 the IUD had to come out right then, #2 there is like a 50% chance of miscarriage when removing the IUD, #3 my labs were abnormal and my progesterone level(hormone required for a healthy pregnancy) was very low and he had never seen a successful pregnancy result with one this low. So he told us that he hated to deliver bad news but that he thought it best for us to go home and prepare our hearts for miscarriage. We went home that evening fully expecting to miscarry. And I know this sounds terrible, but this news did not make me sad. I did not want to be pregnant. I had a special needs child that took up every second of my time and energy, I had terrible and dangerous pregnancies, and I knew that this would most definitely take time away from Parker and he needed me! This was totally not in my plans and I was so upset. The days went on and there was still no sign of miscarriage. We went back to the Dr. and I had completely gotten it into my head that we would have an ultrasound and the baby would be dead, I would have it removed, and we would do our best to get on with our lives. As the ultrasound started, I saw that familiar little flickering on the screen also known as a heart beat. To my surprise I had a sense of relief. Relief? I thought, what is wrong with me? I don't want another baby right now. But I couldn't help to feel relief and just a little excitement at the fact that maybe this isn't going to end bad after all. We scheduled another appt and went home. Day after day I kept expecting something to start happening. Something that indicated all was not right. We went back for the next appointment which was a month since the last one and to my surprise not only was there a heart beat, but here were little arms and legs visible this time. That is the day that my hardened heart became soft again and I truly began to pray and thank God for this baby. I would pray for God to please let it be healthy and ok. I would plead for God to please not let me lose another child or have to watch another one suffer in the NICU. I apologized to God for not wanting this baby at first and for feeling the way I did. Day by day I began to fall in love with this child that was not planned and began to realize that I wanted it just as much as my planned ones. I was monitored extremely closely and immediately put on minimal duty. Which meant, no lifting Parker, which absolutely broke my heart into. My step-mom Kim, and my mother in law Kathy, took, turns "on shift" when Landon was at work. They would come and spend nights on end taking care of Parker for us b/c I simply couldn't. I went through a period of deep guilt b/c Parker needed me and here I was having another baby. The holidays came and went and it was a time of happiness and thankfulness and most of all still shock. We absolutely could not believe we were going to have another baby. Back and forth to doctor appointments we went as they got closer and closer together until we were going twice a week to Nashville. It seemed as though in a blink of an eye, 2 injections of blood thinner a day, and 8 months and Dr. Bellardo was saying "Ok, how does May 9th sound to schedule your C-section?" And then it was time. On May 9, 2011 Graham Harrison Daniel entered the world weighing in at 7lb 4oz and 19in long. I had actually gotten to have a normal pregnancy and delivery and I just kept trying to soak it all in. I had worried my entire pregnancy about if I would have the ability to love this baby as much as I loved Parker. The second I heard his cry the tears began to flow and I knew that I loved him and Parker equally enough to die for them without a seconds thought. It's truly amazing how that works. Now our little Graham is a totally different child than Parker, they are so opposite. Parker is calm and collected like Landon and Graham in high strung like me. He is very needy and cried a lot and wants all of the attention HA! It has been so fun watching him and Parker interact with each other. For the most part Parker has accepted him with no problems. We did have a span about 2 weeks after coming home that Parker just melted down all day every day for a while, but I suppose he was just realizing that Graham wasn't just here for a visit. Now he is fine with him, we just have to keep reminding him to "love" brother instead of pinching and biting and slapping him in the face :) I have always heard everyone say that going from one child to two was hard. I had no idea what I was in for. Not only is it hard, it is down right LIFE CHANGING! I was just starting to get into my little groove and routine with Parker and all of his therapy and his busy schedule and BAM! Another one! But I am slowly but surely starting to get the hang of it hopefully. After getting home and settled we decided that we needed to do something more permanent for birth control. Although we would love to have a house full of children, that just isn't in the cards for our life. It is dangerous and scary. Also it would be selfish. Parker has more needs than your average child and he needs more time and help. If I were to continue having more children he wouldn't get as much of my time b/c it would just be impossible. Landon agreed to have a vasectomy and so he did and it was no big deal, he healed great and had no complications. Having two children who are not mobile is very challenging, also having two that have to have help with everything is also challenging. Normally a 2 yr old would be able to feed themselves and would be talking and telling you what they need and walking around. Sometimes we start getting discouraged about the things that he isn't doing, and we just have to keep reminding ourselves of the things that he is doing and how it could be so much worse. In July we had a follow up appointment to see how Parker's leg braces were working out. The orthopedic doctor feels sure that Parker will be mobile, but said it will just be in his own time. Parker also got a walker that is made for children with cerebral palsy, and we have been practicing with that. In August we celebrated 2 years with our sweet miracle boy at the Children's Museum of the Shoals with friends and family. Time sure is flying by. And I'll admit, as hard as I try, I get all choked up and start crying every single year we sing Happy Birthday to my little man. There were just so many times I questioned if I would ever get to do that. Halloween came and we had Parker the skunk and Graham the monkey. We went to a Halloween Party at some of our friends house and went on a hayride. We also took the boys to the pumpkin patch. We also took a trip to the beach in October, we went to Dauphin Island and Landon's parents went with us. We had a great time. Graham hated the sun and sand and Parker wanted to eat the sand, but all it all it was great. The crazy thing is though, Landon and I went to Dauphin Island back in 07 right after we lost our little girl. We were devistated and just needed to get away so we went for a week by ourselves. We had a wonderful time, but that was also a very difficult time in our lives and in our marriage. We were so full of grief, anger, despair, disgust we didn't know what to do with ourselves. We questioned if we would ever become parents. We left Dauphin Island and entered back into the reality that our home was left with a nursery but no baby to put in it. I tell you all that to say this.....This year at the beach we just stood there and talked for a minute about the last time we were there and about how much things had changed. This time we had not one child but TWO! It was definately bittersweet. Somewhere along the end of October something started happening in Landon and my heads and hearts. For some reason we just started conversating about Parker's future and the fact that he was all but blind. We starting discussing the options for schools for him. Children who are preemie's are in what is called the Early Intervention program and they get various therapies and services and they also start school at age 3. The hopes are that if they start at 3 maybe they can get them caught up with their peers by the time they are 5 and will be ready for kindergarten. We started asking questions and gathering info about resources in our area. Unfortanetly, there are few services for visually impaired kids. There is a vision teacher in Lauderdale county, but she serves the whole county and so Parker would get about 2 hours a month of help from her. For a child who doesn't see well 24 hours a day, 2 hours is nothing. We started talking about what if he had the opportunity to go to a school for children who are blind or have visual impairements. While doing some research we discovered that there was a school for the blind in Nashville of all places. We threw around the idea of him going there and we were like "Yeah it sure would be nice if we had one here" or "It would be so good if Parker could somehow have a school like that to go to". I'm not sure how it happened but the next thing I know we are saying things like "well what if we moved to Nashville?" From there as if over night, we were touring Tennessee School for the Blind(which is so awesome by the way) and finding out what we needed to do in order for Parker to go there. We started driving around Nashville looking at other schools that Graham might go to eventually. Looking at areas we might want to live. In order for this to happen a job would have to come open at another TVA plant or Landon would have to ask for a transfer, we knew that that could take months or even years. We made the desicion that we were moving to Nashville for Parker b/c he needed this. Even if it meant Landon and I living apart for a time until he got a job close to Nashville. If he could learn to read weather it be braille or some other way, or have the ability to pick out clothes and dress himself, or go to the fridge and pour himself a glass of milk, that would be PRICELESS. We could not know there was a facility for him out there and not go. This is what we signed up for as parents, to do what is best for our children, and so that is what we decided to do. After making that decision, as if a sign from above, a unit operator position(which is what Landon does now)came available at Gallatin Steam Plant. Landon applied and to our surprise was offered the job. Everything just started falling into place and we just know this is what we are meant to do. We haven't really told many people because we have been waiting until we got an actual start date on Landon's job. Well we have a start date and that date is January 3, 2012. This was the best way to let everyone know what has been happening in our lives, b/c it would be impossible to explain all this to everyone. We are excited about this opportunity for Parker, however, we would rather not have to move. We love our house and where we live. And our whole families are here. The descision to move has made us extremely sad at times but also extremely happy for Parker. Landon put it best when he said "When I get to thinking about it all and I start getting sad, I just look at Parker and all of that doesn't matter anymore" So folks that is our NEWS! In November we went to Montgomery with the Gruen family and took the kids to see Sesame Street Live, it was a lot of fun. Now it's December and we are preparing for the holidays(it's Graham's first Christmas!!) and also preparing to move. We will be keeping our home here in Killen and coming home very often, we still have renters on both sides to take care of and of course will need to take care of the lake house too. We have various family who will take turns staying at our house so it wont stay vacant and we plan to spend weekends, holidays, and summers at the lake. We have talked about it and feel like we will probably appreciate and enjoy the water more living in Nashville than we do now. With all these changes comes a lot of stress and unknowns and we ask once again for all of your prayers please. This is going to be a huge step in our lives and we will need all of them you can send up. Thank you to all of you who have kept up with our journey and helped along the way, whether it be physically or just spiritually by praying for us, we truly appreciate you all. So until next time...............Have a Merry Christmas from the Daniel Family :)
