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! ;)

We're coming home...

Well, we are heading home from ACH tomorrow. We met with many people today exploring options for Parke. The consensus was that there is no viable option for "fixing" him. The surgical team and the cardiologists met today on his case, and our doctor expressed to us (with tears) that less than 1/4 of them were in favor of moving forward with anything other than palliative/comfort care. We were sad, but also thankful for clear direction. We know exactly where Parke is going, and he is beating all sorts of odds by being here and this healthy. We will take each day we are given and celebrate...and give glory to God for allowing Parke to bathe us with his sweet love and presence. He is truly a gift to our family, and I am forever changed by being his mommy. 

So, tomorrow we will return home. We will continue to do what we were doing before...loving him and acting as normal as possible. We will bring Landry and Collier back home and be a family. We will take each day as it comes and move forward caring for him and keeping him comfortable.

Parke is still eating and breathing on his own. He is showing internal signs of failure with a few leaky valves, low pump function, enlarged heart, and a few more, but outward he still looks totally normal.

I don't know how to express the love I have for Parke and the peace I feel knowing that he will not suffer in this lifetime. He has not even been poked with an IV, and I am so thankful for that. He is so very loved by many, and his short presence on this earth has already been miraculous.

We were given some information today that I am confident Parke will decide to beat. One of the surgeons we met with told us that there is a 0% chance that Parke will live another 3 weeks. I could feel his ears perk up and say, really?! :) I hope he can continue to defy the odds, but I pray continuously for God's will to be done. In his perfect timing, Parke will be fully healed. 

Day 1 Hospital Update

We have had a long day in Little Rock. We have accomplished some, but not all that we expected to get done today. We met with the cardiologist late this morning, had a new echo performed, met with the cardiologist again, etc. We are now waiting to meet with the surgeon tomorrow at some point to continue to determine if surgery is actually a viable option for Parke. We thought we were going to meet with him tonight, but as of 7:00 this evening, he was STILL in surgery and had been for 11 hours. I cannot even imagine having a job like that...these guys are "ninjas" according to one of the nurses. :) They must never sleep. 

Here are a few pictures from our day...

Parke waiting for his appointment this morning. You can probably see the blue color around his lips...this has started happening occasionally, but he is still not requiring additional oxygen. 

Naked man waiting on his echo. He was giving me "the look" because he wanted his clothes back on!

They went ahead and admitted Parke to ACH today just so that we would be in the system if we decide to move forward tomorrow with surgery. 

He looks very hooked up, but really it isn't anything compared to other babies we saw! 

He is only having his blood pressure, heart rate, etc. monitored. He is not having any additional "support" at this point. 

The excitement of the day came with a tornado scheduled to hit the Little Rock area. Sirens were going off, and they required almost all of the patients to leave their rooms and gather in the hallway. We stayed out there for almost an hour! Parke was easy to transport because they just unplugged all of his stuff. The kiddos that required life support looked a lot trickier to move. The nurses were so sweet taking care of those babies!

So, tomorrow we will meet with the surgeon and know a lot more then. I will keep you updated as I can!

A friend reminded me of this verse the other day, and I love how it reminds me once again that these tough decisions are not all on us. God has already planned Parke's first and last day. I am thankful that he was with us for his first, and I pray that his last is far far away. We will trust God's timing and direction as we move forward tomorrow, and we know that none of these things that are happening are a coincidence, and nothing is a surprise to God. 

Psalm 139:13-16 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.