Please pray for this family

I was going to start this post off with talking about how Kenny and the kids were doing, but I just found out that a fellow preemie blogger's family just lost their sweet baby girl Madeline Alice Sphor at just 17 months old on April 7th 2009. Please say a prayer for her parents and family that she leaves behind. This just shows you how fragile our micro preemies really are. She was fine one day, and then the next, she had a cold and her oxygen sats were dangerously low and then the following day she passed away... am at a loss for words. Such a beautiful little soul inside and out. May God watch over her parents/family during these very hard days ahead of them. The family is asking to please donate to the March of Dimes in Maddies name.

Here is her website:
http://remembermaddie.com/

Everyone, please don't take life for granted...its a gift from God. Love one another and cherish every moment big or small that you have with your loved ones.

Kenny just got approved to attend the Toddler Program run by the County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Delays. He will be starting on April 23 and will be going 2 days a week from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. I know it will be great for him, but I am scared about him getting sick or...well...missing me me missing him! They are going to give him so much more therapy for those 2 days then I could ever do here at home by myself. We had his 6 month assessment the other day. This is where we compare him to what he was and what we wanted him to accomplish in those 6 months. He has for the most part, accomplished quite a bit! We are still looking at him being behind developmentally...like...way behind. They have him at 9-12 months of age in his development, but with the help of him being at the school, we are hoping that he starts to catch up. Gina is doing things that Kenny just started doing not too long ago...but I am getting a new attitude through all of this...I am going to put my faith in God (which I haven't done very well in the recent past) and just go with it. I am going to do all I can do to give my kids a wonderful, happy, fulfilled and complete life. We have been through more than most people could even imagine, and yes, I was feeling sorry for myself...still so at times...but you know, God gave me 8 beautiful children and a great husband and family...I feel very blessed for that. We are put on this earth, faced with things that only we can/must work out for a reason. I really feel that having all these kids, losing Nick and the 2 miscarriages, having Kenny with the problems he is facing and will be facing, the financial difficulties from this poor economy and anything else...is just to make me a stronger person. A more sympathetic and understanding person that is not so into the wants as much as the needs. I want to be able to help other moms/dads who have had preemies and losses. I want to tell them what to expect, that it is OK to ask for help and to ask tons of questions to your doctors. Having a micro preemie (or even a preemie) doesn't just end after the NICU stay...it is a full time job...heck...having 7 kids is a full time job with overtime! I hear that sticking with something and following what you believe and feel pays off in the end~!

On another note...

Kenny has been waking up half the night with coughing fits that last a long time. We have been giving him his Zantac but I really think that it is more than just reflux. He's probably getting sick again...UGH! This is the first month since his last Synagis shot...I am SOOO holding my breath on this one. Last year, he got RSV and was hospitalized a month and a half after his last shot...I really don't want to go back to another hospital stay. It's bad enough that a couple of weeks ago, they wanted to keep Kenny over night because of his bad cough/wheeze he had.


Kenny is doing much better in his walker. He has finally mastered getting around...albeit, he is lazy while walking...more less goes limp and lets his toes push him around...but it's a start! Now if I can just find the room to have his walker AND Gina's walker in the house...they are playing bumper cars like crazy with those things!

So as I close this post, I just want to again tell everyone to PLEASE, love one another, make each day special and dont take anyone or anything for granted. Life is precious and fragile.
This prayer was posted by Shydub @ the blog, Simple Happy Life...I just found it so perfect for this whole Easter Season...

PRAYER FOR HOLY WEEK

Jesus my Lord, let me strengthen my courage by taking on the courage of all those people who have been "centurions" for me. Many have faced disasters and hard times with great constancy. The upper hand of evil never turned them against you. They kept going. Let me be like them, Lord. No matter what the cross, let me never stop declaring you to be "truly the Son of God, the source of my hope, the reason why I will never quit on life.