we got home on thursday evening and settled in for a rather uneventful evening of playing on the computer and watching t.v. it felt normal and we were so grateful.
friday we went for a follow up with dr. metsch and heard asher is doing well and should be treated like a "normal" baby. i was thrilled to hear he was still looking good. stew didn't mention this in the last post because he's a kind and loving husband, but i (annie) was the one responsible for baby asher's fall. i don't know that i could forgive myself if i was the cause for long term damage of asher's health. fortunately it looks like that won't be an issue. God was merciful and i am so so grateful! we're all glad he's home and ok.
How do you know that you have a sweet three-month-old?When he is smiling and flirting with the nurses, even as they are getting ready to draw a significant amount of blood for lab work.Asher, true to form of his rough and tumble brothers and the Montgomery family legacy, spent most of yesterday and all of last night in the hospital, wooing everybody he met while handling a fractured skull with ease and grace.
In a blatant effort to be our youngest boy to return to the hospital, and shave a couple years off the lives of his parents and other family members in the process, Asher dove out of his baby carrier yesterday, landing on the concrete, and giving himself a hairline fracture on the right side of his already oversized head.We are still not sure if he beat Isaac to the punch (we will do the math later), but at 14 weeks he is already proving to be one precocious little man.
If all of life is grace, the last 24 hours has been yet another affirmation.We are eternally grateful that Annie saw the little contusion on his head as we sat in the doctor’s office, for our fantastic pediatrician, Dr. Metsch, who insisted that we get a CT scan of Asher’s dome even though others told us it was unnecessary, all the amazing Children’s nurses and doctors who have cared for us (Sarah who brought us snacks and crayons when we first got to the emergency room, Jason from the lab who hit a vein in the crook of Asher’s chubby elbow the very first time, and Sue who knows my mom from church and came by to check on him this morning, to name a few), for the fact that the questionable subdural hematoma that they may have seen on the original readings has been dismissed, and for the countless emails, texts, calls, notes, words of encouragement, and prayers that have been heaped upon us and our littlest son.
Yesterday was the sort of day you never hope to have, full of anguish and fear, wrought with worst-case scenarios.My consistent prayer was for the peace that comes with an awareness of God’s fierce nearness, one we hope to affirm as good in darkness and in light, yet is now much easier to recognize as we hope to leave the hospital today, assured repeatedly that there should not be any long term affects.
In the days ahead, we hope to embrace the following:
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones.And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.God is awake.”
monday we hit the park with friends. we came home with sand in our pockets and dirt under our nails. it was a good day! (isaac and juliana drew a rocket)
tuesday we took a walk with friends. love when the kids fall asleep and allow me to chat. a true gift!
baby asher has started to show us a little bit of his personality and i am in LOVE. asher kind of reminds me a bit of isaac (click here and scroll to the end). i can't get enough when my kids laugh. all the sleepless nights, cleaning of messes, follow through with discipline and then you get the good stuff. i like the good stuff.
after church we headed to my parents for another great celebration. my mom covered the front yard with eggs and goodies for the boys to find. we even saw the ermanis girls hunting for their eggs across the street.
my mom spoils the adult egg hunters as well. with over 100 eggs hidden in the backyard we all walked away with some extra cash. love that part of the afternoon!
we did see some rain. that didn't stop gaga and isaac from enjoying the great outdoors.
grandma chris set up an easter egg hunt for the boys and all the cousins. lots of grabbing and stealing of eggs.
these cousins have so much fun playing together. it's an absolute treat for me to watch them all enjoying each other. oh the fun they will have for years to come.
just so you know i did try to explain the easter story to the boys. i must have done a horrible job since isaac ended my story with, "no Jesus!" we'll give that a try later. stew said we should probably just focus on the fact that Jesus is making things new. wish i would have thought of that before i brought up the whole rising from the grave. i am a rookie mom, what can i say.
saturday we headed to eggapalooza for the second year. daybreak church does an amazing outreach for the community and we were there to join in on the fun.
ryder collected rolly polly after rolly polly while we waited to get in.
first stop was at the cars.
isaac was most excited about the easter egg hunt. please note isaac's pajama shirt. i have always wanted to be the kind of mom that isn't overly concerned with my child's appearance so we he wanted to wear this top we had to let him. he may be upset when he looks back at photos but we're taking that chance.
rookie move. never check the eggs in the middle of the hunt.
they provided free food for everyone. honestly, this was such an amazing community outreach. i love when the church gets it right and invites everyone and loves them once they arrive.
photo courtesy of daybreak church
fortunately easter is not about the candy, the easter bunny or the egg hunting. i enjoy all these fun little treats but the story of why we celebrate easter is so much greater. we get to have a relationship with a God who loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. Jesus not only died but he rose from that grave and that makes for an amazing easter celebration!
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."
this past monday we gathered with 100+ friends to hunt for eggs, much like last year. i love to watch friends meeting new friends. this past monday was such a treat for me. my kids were playing, my family was there helping and i got to meet new friends. one of the best parts was that a friend of mine, lauren natalie, donated her time to photograph our whole event. i wanted to make sure that all the children were captured and she did an amazing job. here are the rest of the photos if you're interested.
this series of photos is so precious to me.
my fabulous husband was the rabbit! i owe him big time!
it's true, my mom has the touch.
group shot or at least those of us who were willing to leave the playground.
