More tomorrow...

Below is a link to Parke's obituary. I am going to try to sit down in the morning and share a post with some pictures and precious memories from our last few days with our baby boy. 

I cannot thank you all enough for the love and kindness that has been shown to our family. 

http://eptingfuneralhome.webs.com/obituariescondolences.htm#906757073

Want to show your love?

This is Lindsey's friend, Michelle, letting you know how you can share your love for sweet Parke Henry with the Gibson family.  If you have been touched by Parke's story in any way, it would be a blessing to Micah and Lindsey for you to share that with them.  Maybe you are a close friend, an acquaintance or just know of their story through the grapevine.  It doesn't matter how you are connected, but it does matter that God has used the life of Parke Henry to touch many other lives!!

They've had people mention that Parke's story and life have encouraged them to start the foster care process, move forward with adoption, hug their kids tighter, or even trust deeply in our God's plan. It is wonderful for grieving parent's hearts to hear that a lost life was used in a mighty way. 

Would you consider giving this gift of comfort and encouragement to Micah and Lindsey by simply telling your Parke story?  You can send a sentence or two, a letter or even a video.  Some of these sweet stories may be used at Parke's memorial service.  Please send them to these three email addresses:

Micah and Lindsey: lindseyEgibson@rocketmail.com

Sarah Lauren Wade: hayeswadenwa@yahoo.com

Michelle Burton:  mburton05@sbcglobal.net

Lindsey will get to read each story as you send them and Sarah Lauren and I will work to compile and organize them.

- GIVING -

In place of gifts and flowers, Micah and Lindsey ask you donate on Parke's behalf to:

Pediatric Palliative Care

at Arkansas Children's Hospital

1 Children's Way

Little Rock, AR 72202

Much love and many thanks have been expressed by Lindsey and Micah for the outrageous out-pour of love for their family today. 

Parke is with Jesus

Our precious Parke Henry went to be with Jesus this morning. 

He is fully healed and perfect. I miss him already, but I know he is celebrating this day with our Lord. 

Angels are rejoicing for this beautiful baby they just received!

We had him for 7 weeks, and we will join with him again for eternity when our time comes. 

Thank you for your prayers. 

Wednesday Update

Parke had a peaceful night last night. He ate a little formula before bed and kept it down. He slept 7 hours without waking up and then took a small amount of formula again this morning. We've continued to give him some pedialite to keep him comfortable and hydrated. We are not pushing food, but only giving it to him when he seems uncomfortable because he's hungry. The oxygen has really kept his color looking good, and his breathing seems less labored (except for a few periods of struggling). We have gone ahead and given him a few doses of morphine which helps when his breathing gets crazy and he becomes anxious. 

Parke is resting well now and being snuggled by Daddy. 

Landry and Collier are still here with us, and we plan to keep it that way as much as possible. We have some precious friends who are taking turns at the house playing with them, holding the baby, whatever we need to keep things as "normal" as possible. 

Please keep praying for comfort for sweet Parke. He is just a doll! 

Also, please pray for my sanity and for me not to be a crazy nut to my family. Stress has been a beast in our house this week, and satan is using it to create tension in what I want to be a precious and peaceful situation. 

On top of that, my mama flew out this morning on a mission-type trip out of the country. She struggled with leaving a little bit, but it had been planned for a long time. I acted tough when I talked to her on the phone early this morning, but it is going to be hard not having access to her (not even by phone) for several days. 

She's the one I talk to multiple times a day, and she's been on-call throughout this whole process for whatever we need. Friends have obviously stepped in and have been wonderful as well, but sometimes a girl just needs her mama! 

I will continue to keep you as updated as possible. Thanks so much for your prayers. 

God is good, all the time!

Yesterday was great...until it wasn't

Yesterday started off perfectly. The kids {kind of} cooperated for me to get out the door to Parke's early morning doctor's appointment, and the appointment went well. 

Well, I need to back up. Sunday night after I had my gripe-fest on the blog, I tried going to bed right after the kids went down. I had not done a quiet time that day, so I picked up my phone while laying in bed and went to my YouVersion Bible app. The following was the verse of the day, and it just made me cry! It was exactly what I needed to read that night...

Isaiah 25:1

Lord, you are my God; 

I will exalt you and praise your name

for in perfect faithfulness,

you have done wonderful things, 

things planned long ago. 

In PERFECT FAITHFULNESS, God planned Parke's days long ago. He is faithful and able to carry us through whatever storms may come our way and whatever dark days we may have. I will exalt and praise his name!

So, with that verse on my heart, we started our Monday. The visit to our doctor went well, and despite Parke's poor eating the night before, he sounded and looked good...maybe even better than when we were in a few weeks ago! We discussed that maybe Parke had a little virus that was slowing  his appetite for a while and that it would pick back up. His cough could be from that too, and it was "normal" for Parke to change colors when he coughed because his oxygen levels would drop. 

We went on with our rainy and dreary day and met one of my favorite friends for coffee. Parke loved the loud buzz of the coffee shop and slept like a champ. We ran a few additional errands and headed back home.  

Landry has dance class on Mondays, and our "Emmy" normally stays home with Collier while Parke and I take the ballerina to class. Yesterday, it started getting really nasty out, so Emmy took Landry to class so that Parke wouldn't have to get out again. 

Parke rested a lot while they were gone, so Mini Picasso and I got to have ice cream and a painting party. He is so much fun to spend one-on-one time with...he eats it up!

Then in the afternoon, Parke started making some changes. His eating was still decreased, and what he did take in he spit back up shortly after. He even "dry heaved" some, and it was so pitiful. He seemed weak and tired. Fast forward through the night, and we have basically gone 24 hours without any formula intake (that stayed). We have been feeding Parke Pedialite through a dropper to keep him hydrated, but his wet diapers have decreased significantly. 

Parke seemed uncomfortable through the night. Especially after feedings...until he would spit it back up and get it off his stomach. His breathing pattern has changed, and he seems to struggle with that some. His color still looks great, but some of that is probably his beautiful skin-tone. :)

Our Little Rock doctor talked with our local doctor, and they have decided that continuous oxygen might help keep Parke comfortable. The oxygen was delivered today, and Parke was not a huge fan of having the hook-up on his face. We will see how this goes! 

Ultimately, we want him to be comfortable...that has been our goal from the start. We don't want him to struggle, and we will do whatever we need to do to keep him happy and covered in love. 

Please pray for Parke Henry over the next several days. We know what we are expecting to happen, but he could always rally again and keep us on our toes. 

Thanks for your prayers for our family...these have been tough days. 

I'm just being honest...

I'm a little grumpy and have been in a funk the past few days. I'll just be honest and tell you that I think it is because we have seen some changes with Parke. Nothing super serious, and he always seems to rebound and go back to being "normal" just as fast as it went the other way. He has a cough right now, and when he has a little spell of coughing his color seems to change. He hasn't been eating as well and has been getting choked more often. So, there it is. That's what has been going on the past few days, and it is just hard to take time to sit down and update when all I want to do is snuggle a baby....and we've been doing a lot of that!

We go see Parke's normal pediatrician tomorrow, and I'm anxious to see what he weighs, let them hear his lungs, and find out what his pulse-ox is. I'll keep you posted!

When I say that I'm a little grumpy with all that is going on, it makes me frustrated with myself. I don't want to be grumpy, I want to be happy and thankful...and I am 99% of the time. Lucky ya'll...I've sat down at the computer perfectly timed to the other 1%. Ha! 

I am SO happy and thankful that Parke is still with us. I am blessed by each day that we get to spend with him and the amazing love that he has added to our family. It's just hard for a planner to live in limbo-land, and that is exactly where I feel like we are today. We thought Parke's life was going to be short and sweet....2 days to 2 weeks (ish). Am I upset that he is still here? Heck no, but we don't know what tomorrow brings, and that is hard for me. Does him making it 6 1/2 weeks mean that he will be here forever? Does him making it 6 1/2 weeks mean that he has only a few days left? Only God knows, and I totally trust him. I would just love to receive an email from him with a detailed schedule of what to expect...and I'm definitely learning a lesson or two on who is in control of this situation. :)

I like to consider myself a realist. I know that I could lose Micah, Landry, or Collier in an instant as well. I've always tried to live my life without regrets and as if it could be anyone's last day...including my own. I try to always tell my family that I love them and leave situations in good standing...just in case. The part that makes this situation with Parke different is that we were expecting it to be his last day, and it wasn't. Now, we're moving on with our lives and making plans with him in them, but there is still a cloud over us with what statistics say will happen. 

So, we're living each day wondering if it will be Parke's last. Trying not to let it be the focus of our lives, but the question is there. 

I'm probably doing a pitiful job explaining my feelings, but I think you will get the idea. 

Parke gave me a thumbs up on his 6 week birthday, and that made my heart sing. He is thrilled to be here with us for as long as he has, and I must get back to snuggling him now. 

Thanks for letting me vent. Some days, I just need it! 

^{I'm going to put these verses on my bathroom mirror this week and make sure I focus on today and not tomorrow. I'm thankful that HE is in control and not me.} 

^{Matthew 6: 27 and 34}

²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

"Girl Time!"

Landry is a piece of work these days. I don't know if it is her age or if it started after getting another brother in the house. Either way, changes are needing to be made. :) 

She is sassy, doesn't want to listen, has her own ideas and ways of doing things, totally makes all of Collier's decisions for him, and is super-duper-duper rude to people when we are out places. She swings her head away and crosses her arms when strangers say hello, and it is so embarrassing! 

She can go from being sweet as pie to total beast in about 2 seconds flat. 

So, I'm kind of at a loss. We do timeout, we spank when we need to, we've started taking toys away, and we are just working down the list to see what seems to make a difference. I want my sweet girl back (all the time!). 

This weekend, all 3 boys were down napping, so Landry and I snuck away for some much needed time together. "Girl Time!" is what Landry normally says we need. On a funny side note, Micah was trying to get her to say that one day, and so he asked her what it was called when she and mommy went someplace together. She responded very enthusiastically, "Sam's Club!" :) Ha!

We stopped at the nail salon first for Landry to get her nails done for the first time. She loved it and picked a blue color with hearts added to a few fingers. She was so excited. While she was letting her nails dry, she fell fast asleep. She fought it for several minutes and would open her eyes and act like she hadn't missed a beat. It was so cute! 

 Finally, she slumped over and started drooling...I knew she was really out at that point. :)

 After the nail salon, we went to TCBY and ate ice cream for dinner. She especially loved that part! 

While we were there, a man told her what a pretty princess she was. In her usual sass, she corrected him that she was, "A COWGIRL princess....yeehaw!" (Notice the vest on her princess dress.) 

We had such a great time spending a few hours together. I think we both needed some alone time! 

By the way, after posting the nail salon picture on Facebook, I had a few of you mention something to me about her cheeks being pink or her hot pink blush. Nope, that's her natural color when she is sleepy or has been playing hard. Bright pink rosy cheeks!

 Landry is really the spark of our family. She keeps us on our toes, and you never know what she will say or come up with. She is an absolute mess, but she is MY mess. I'm told regularly that I am paying for my raising, but I am confident that can't be true. :)

I love these pictures below of her being a sweet mommy and sister to HER babies. She constantly has a baby in her arms...Parke, Arm, or Amy usually. 

I sure love this sassy girl!