A Reason To Celebrate!

Some of our most precious friends put together a 1 month birthday party for Parke Henry. It was a special day for our family, and it was so much fun to celebrate with a small group of friends. Parke was surrounded by wild kiddos and lots of other babies...it was just perfect! 

The kids played so hard and totally wore themselves out. They both slept hard last night (despite all the sugar!). 

The birthday boy was passed around and loved on a lot...just the way it was supposed to be! 

Happy 1 month (and one day now) birthday to our little miracle! He has doubled his original life expectancy, and we hope he just keeps going and going. 

Parke's pediatrician was partying with us last night....those are his lovely daughters holding Parke in a few of the pics. He gave me permission (probably because I didn't ask, I just told him...ha!) to give P a tiny taste of icing for his special day. Honestly, he wasn't a fan. :) 

Parke received several cards at his party, but I have to say that this was my favorite. Emma's mama sent me a picture of this earlier this week, but it was so sweet that they wanted to give Parke the actual paper. Emma is 4 years old and was asked to write something she was thankful for at church last week. She was thankful for baby Parke. :) I love that our friends' kiddos lives are being touched by Parke...we don't know the reason he is here, but God certainly does!

Love, love, loved yesterday. Thank you to everyone for the sweet messages, wishes, and prayers for Parke!  

Let's Catch Up

This could easily be several blog posts, but I don't easily come up with the time for that these days....so, you're getting it all in one. :) Also, some of the pictures are duplicates from Facebook, so if we're friends on there, you will just be EXTRA caught up! 

Before I share pictures...Parke is still doing great this morning. He is resting well, eating great, and continuing to be just perfect. He is not struggling to breath and doesn't seem in any distress like he did a little bit before we went to Little Rock. He is back to "if you didn't KNOW he was sick, you wouldn't know." I like it that way!

 We had such a perfect and normal week. You saw pictures of our lazy day and other things we did, and it just kept getting better from there. On Wednesday, my mom and I took the kids to the public library. She has taken Landry before, but I had never gone. It was so much fun! I will say...never, never, never, never, ever will I take all 3 kids by myself and do this. I should say...never, ever, ever until they are old enough to listen, potty on their own, not pull every single book off the shelf, and try to run away. It was exhausting, but so worth it! 

They had story time, sang songs, played games on the computer, and just really enjoyed themselves. Sweet Parke rested peacefully in the stroller and didn't make a peep!

The next morning, Landry was so excited that she and Parke were "froggy twins!" I've mentioned this before, but when things match, they are automatically twins. :) She is SUCH a proud big sister, and I love watching her with "her baby!" 

Sweet snuggles before bed! A Gibson pile-up, if you will. :)

Dado and Nana came over to celebrate Parke's 4 week birthday with us on Thursday.  Landry keeps my dad laughing, and I love to see them together! 

As we speak, Micah is finishing up our Saturday morning breakfast (that I was actually supposed to be cooking...thanks honey!). Today is going to be full of snuggles, play-time, and tons of love. I couldn't ask for anything more special than our family of 5, so I am heading off to enjoy every second. Please continue your prayers for our little man....he is so amazing and every day with him is such a blessing!

A Lazy Day for Us!

Yesterday, we literally did not change clothes until bath/bedtime last night. It was a wonderfully lazy day around here and just what the kids and I needed. 

I don't want this to sound like I am complaining (because I promise, I'm not!), but yesterday was our first day with zero visitors since Parke was born. It was nice to just relax, spend time snuggling, and not worry about how the house (or my face!) looked because people were coming over. We are back in business after a day of rest and had several people drop-in today. We love having visitors and letting people snuggle our sweet boy, but everyone needs a little down time every once in a while. :)

Our day was fabulous! We got up and played and played. Then, I snuggled on the couch with all 3 babies in my arms and watched any show they wanted for an hour. It was precious time!

My kids LOVE to go, go, go...but they really seemed to enjoy yesterday as well. 

Micah got home from work, and the temperature was still around 60 degrees. We went outside and let the kids play for a bit. They love being outside and try to sneak out the door any chance they get!

Landry has a purple jeep and Collier has a tractor, but since Landry is "the boss" she always gets to decide which vehicle Collier "wants." :) She is a stinker!

Baby Parke even joined the party outside and seemed to really enjoy looking around. 

He is a doll....still awake, still alert, still eating today!

I'm so glad we got to have some much needed family time yesterday. The smiles on the kids faces and extra kisses throughout the day made me realize over again what life is all about. The little things really make a big difference to these precious little hearts. 

Squeeze your babies tonight and enjoy some special time with your family! 

Much love from the Gibsons!

Day 27 and More Newborn Pictures!

Since I confessed that I have been bad about taking pictures the past few days, I decided I would share some shots from Parke's newborn photo shoot a few weeks ago. These are just precious, and I am so thankful that Stephanie was able to capture these memories for us.

There were a bazillion to choose from, so I just picked a few of my favorites to share.  

I think this is my all-time favorite. Fuzzy hair, open eyes, and overall just precious. :)

I honestly have the sweetest baby ever! The other two are okay (ha!), but he is just the coolest. :) 

I am having the best day today hanging out and snuggling with all 3 wiggle worms. I HAVE taken some pictures this morning, so tomorrow you will get to see my pj clad family at our best! I've already warned Micah that when he gets home from work, he better plan on getting cozy and snuggling because I have promised the kids we would not do another thing today! 

So, moving on to answer a few questions I have been getting a lot the past few days. 

#1: How are you guys holding up? 

To be honest, we are great. It might sound weird, but we are so thankful to be home and be on this path with Parke that things are just peaceful. Before birth, we had pretty much decided that surgery wouldn't be a route for our baby. We had prayed about it, had several conversations with people that we respect greatly, and had come to be okay with the fact that we would have Parke as long as we had him. Obviously, we didn't dream that it would be this long! 

I am completely at peace with this route, and I love that God is being given the glory for each day Parke has. He is receiving no support (oxygen, feeding tubes, etc) and is functioning as a normal baby. Each day that Parke blesses us with his presence is completely a gift from the Lord. There are no machines or surgeons to receive any glory for his life...only God. I love that...and God is so, so good at what he does. 

#2: So, what happened anyway? Why is surgery not an option?

I'm sorry that I have kind of left everyone hanging on this question. I told you there might be an option, then I told you there wasn't...nothing in between. I'll try to explain as simply as I can because honestly the knitty- gritty details don't matter that much. 

Last week when we thought there might be a promising surgical option, we were excited and anxious. We thought it was clear before that surgery was not the route for us to take, but we saw God opening doors for a new path. When we got to Little Rock, some things showed up on the echo-cardiogram that were not there (or possibly not seen) before birth. In additon, the ductus that closes in most babies between 48-72 hours was believed to still be open in Parke's heart...that is what we all thought was keeping him going and allowing his right side to pump for his left. In reality, the ductus had closed already. We all know Parke's heart is special, but it is actually EXTRA special because there is a small hole that is open in Parke's heart that is allowing his heart to continue functioning. 

Because the right side of his heart is working overtime to make up for the left side, the right side is becoming weak. The pump function on the right side was lower than it needed to be in order for a surgery to be successful. That pretty much sums it up. Low pump function and a few leaks that we didn't know were present made the option of surgery a clear "no." 

#3 Do you feel like you wasted time going to ACH? 

I have actually been asked this question A LOT! The answer from Micah and I both is absolutely not. We had a wonderful trip to Arkansas Children's Hospital. The staff was wonderful, the answers were clear, and the care and compassion for Parke was overwhelming.

Micah and I got to spend time with Parke....just the 3 of us...that we hadn't done before. We always had visitors or the other kids around, so these were a special few days.

I had two different nurses cry and tell us that Parke's story changed their lives. 

We were able to witness and stand firm in our faith and belief in heaven and share that with many people. We were able to meet several families with children in the CVICU, hear their stories, and know how to pray for them.

We had confirmation of Parke's diagnosis. We feel like we explored every option we could, and we feel even better about where we are today. 

We built friendships with people that will last a lifetime. 

It was a wonderful, wonderful trip! 

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart..." 

We know Parke is here for a reason. We know that each day he is here, there is a purpose. God determined his first day and his last, just like he has for each of us. We are going to continue on one day at a time knowing that Parke is meant to meet someone, touch someone, or be present in a situation each day he is here. We will continue to be thankful, to sing praises for our blessing, and share his journey with you. 

Happy Day 27!

Feeling scattered

I still feel so scattered from being out of town and out of our routine. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things....laundry caught up, suitcases unpacked, groceries purchased...it just seems like it takes me forever. Then, our dishwasher goes out. I am not really a "wash by hand" kind of girl. Top is off with a rainy Monday, and our week is starting off a little gloomy! 

Parke and I went to get our nails done...well, I got my nails done and people just stared at him and told me how precious my baby was. I think it is so funny to see people look at him, then at me, then at him, then at me...I know they are wondering how I gave birth to HIM. A lot of times, I don't get in to the whole story, so they are just left wondering what beautiful dark skin my husband must have. :) 

 Then, when we got home, I found a few adorable pictures that I hadn't shared with you yet and it made my frown turn upside down! :) Ha! It's 1:00, and Monday is finally looking better!

Look at this little man sitting up in our bed the other morning. I think he looks so much older here!

Brothers. 

Collier is crazy about Parke....and vice versa. Parke's eyes dart all over the room when he hears Collier's voice. It might be because he is scared of what is coming! :) 

I honestly haven't been taking enough pictures the past few days. We've been enjoying our moments and snuggling a lot. Parke was able to go to part of church yesterday (before a projectile vomit indecent) and his first Super Bowl party last night. We just love taking him to do "normal" things! 

Today is day 25, and Parke seems totally perfect. To us, he seems even better this week than he did last. He is so alert, eating great, and growing! 

Landry and Collier are also being absolutely precious....and hilarious. I will need to do an update on them soon! 

Happy to be home!

I am so happy to be home with our little family. It is hard to be away from two of the munchkins that I love so much! I am posting a random assortment of pictures on this post to get all caught up. :)

Day 2 at ACH was good and pretty uneventful. Parke was snuggled by us as well as the nurses quite a bit!

Oh, it actually WAS eventful because Parke had a visit from a great-aunt that he had not had the pleasure to meet yet. Micah's Aunt Michele and her son Brad were able to swing by while they were in Little Rock for an appointment of their own. It was so fun for Parke to get to meet some of his Jonesboro family! 

We were excited (I will get into that more in another post) to get discharged on Thursday morning and get to head home. Dr. Best was our cardiologist, and he was wonderful! We met him while Parke was still in birth mama's belly, and we think very highly of him! 

 On the way home Thursday afternoon, we stopped in Lavaca to pick up the kids from Gigi and Papa-D. While we were there, Parke got to meet another set of his great-grandparents for the first time. It was really sweet! We also stayed for dinner and celebrated Parke's 3 week birthday with the Gibson family!

Yesterday, we got settled back in. Landry was so excited that "baby Parke HeMry!" was home. He seemed a little excited to see her too. :) We got L and C both a set of play scrubs from ACH and picked them up a medical kit on our way home. Landry jumped right into her new role of being a doctor and gave everyone check-up's yesterday. She said baby Parke sounded perfect!

We also got Parke a cute outfit while we were in Little Rock. The hat that went with the set was unusually large. Landry decided to put it on and match Parke. In Landry's world, anything that matches are...."twins!"

Sister is glad we are back home so that she can continue to act like a baby too. :) Love those sweet feet!

Sorry for the randomness. Hopefully I will be back in the groove tomorrow. I will give you some additional details about our time in Little Rock and an overall update on Parke. 

Today, he is doing great! Even though we know there is some internal failure with his heart, we are not seeing any external signs at this point. His eating has picked back up, and he seems strong and alert. He is such a miracle, and I am so proud to call him mine!

We're busy being a family!

I know I have been slow updating the blog the past few days. I'm sorry to leave you wondering about what's going on with Parke...we are still doing great! Parke is hanging in there, and continuing to act normal. We have had lots of snuggles the past few days. The kids were ecstatic for us to be home, and I will share several pictures of that tomorrow!

More updates and lots of pictures coming this weekend. I just wanted you to know we are okay! ;)