Tuesday October 20th

Well, Josie continues to amaze us.... She is rolling all over the place, and hates to sit still. She hates going to sleep, so therefor she fights her sleep ALL DAY LONG!!!!
She is almost 15 pounds now, growing like a weed, and looking more and more like her brother everyday...
We had our Chef's Auction last night for the March of Dimes fundraiser in Akron. It was the first time I had told Josie's story in public..... It was great, believe it or not, I help myself together, it was a little iffy at one time..... The crowd was in tears....... As so was Daddy, Grandma, Nan and Pa!!! They did a slide show of Josie from day one until now, she has came such a long way!
She is coming off her oxygen, slow but sure, I still don't wanna rush her.
She's just perfect.........
Well, that's all for now, update you all more later, she is needing my attention right at this moment, and she has NO patience...... LOL
Love to you all!!!!

Sunday

Well, Josie continues to amaze us all. Almost 13 pounds, and is just a joy. She is wound for sound the moment her eyes open, just like her big brother Easton. Had her appointment with the pulminoligist Friday, and he wanted to take her off the oxygen completely, but I, as her mother, did not feel that she was ready for that. I don't want to rush her. She does great when it's off, but there are times that I KNOW she needs it. I have decided to just slowly ween her off, I let her have as much freedom as I think she need with it right now.
I have become a very active person with the March of Dimes since the birth of Josie. I guess I just feel that if I can help prevent one baby from going through, and fighting, like Josie did, then I will be happy. I have been working with Nikki from the Canton March of Dimes, and her and I are meeting with the corporate people next week, and getting a walk in our local area. I have set up our first support meeting for parents and family members from our area that have dealt with prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality. Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday. I hope it's a huge success. We will be organizing the walk here, working on fundraising, and letting people know what they can do when there are faced with these certain obstacles.
Other than all that, we are all doing great. Just enjoying life with my children, and watching them grow and learn new things everyday.
I am asking for special prayers tonight, for a little baby boy that was born a week ago at 30 weeks. His name is Boston and he weighed 2 pounds 3 ounces and was 15 inches long. He was transfered to another NICU today, because he has to have surgery in the morning for a bowel obstruction. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. We ALL know that the POWER OF PRAYER is amazing!

September-

Well, hard to believe that Josie is 7 months old now. Where has the time went? She is doing great. Still using the oxygen when she eats and sleeps,and sometimes if she wears herself out. She is on the go all the time, and her and Easton keep me on my toes.
She is just a little over 12 pounds now, and is growing like a weed. Crazy to look back at how much she has grown in the last few months.
Still getting her infusions once a month, but now that she has had the med port put in, it is much, much easier. It was hard to have to have her go through that but it really has benefited her the last couple times. She doesn't even know that she has been stuck with that HUGE needle, she just lays there smiling, sucking her fingers.
She loves to roll around, and loves to sit up, with a little help still, but that's ok, she is definitely getting the hang of it. She amazes me more and more everyday.
I have been working on my speech for the March of Dimes fundraiser coming up in October. It will be the first time that I have told her story to anyone other than family, but I am really looking forward to it. Also, we are working with the March of Dimes to have a walk in our local area. We are just starting, so no dates have been set yet, but as soon as they are, I will definitely post them. Also, a friend and myself who both have had preemie babies are thinking of starting a support group locally, not only for preemie parents and their families, but parents who's children have birth defects, and also parents and families who have lost their little angels. We are hoping that this will be a great success! The March of Dimes needs to be recognized, and we are hoping to help. I know deep down that if it had not been for the courageous strength of little Josie, the wonderful staff at Aultman hospital and the March of Dimes, Josie would not be with us today, and we as a a family will FOREVER be grateful to them all.
I have been looking through my pictures the last few nights getting them in order, and to this day, I still find it hard to swallow at times. I look and just think how in the world did we get through that. It really is a distant memory, until I look at those pictures.
She is absolutely amazing, and grows so much day to day. She looks and acts so much like Easton. They are going to be great buddies, I just know it. Hopefully they don't gang up on Dusty and I too much. LOL
So, we hope that you all are doing great, and we will update more as we get it. Thanks and Love to all who have been there with us the last 7 months, you know who you are, and we will always remember you all.

Big Day- - - -

Well we went for Josie's infusion today at the pulminoligist in Akron, and we also hed her monthly visit while we were there, and much to our surprise, the Dr. told us that Josie only has to wear her oxygen when she eats and sleeps now. We are thrilled, it is so weird to see her without anything on her face. She has done great today without it. She just amazes us more and more everyday....
She is almost 12 pounds and growing like a weed. Won't be long and she will be going all by herself... I will post pictures soon, just wanted to give everyone the GREAT update....
Thank you for all your prayers and continued support...

6 MONTHS OLD~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, In 53 minutes Josie Lynn Marie will be 6 months old. Where has the last 6 months gone. She is doing absolutely amazing. A little over 11 pounds and has rolled over, coo's, and smiles all the time. She is just such a miracle. It's hard to believe that she is the same little girl that fit in our hand 6 months ago. I remember the first time I held her, I actually was nervous, my heart raced, and my palms were sweating like they never had before, by the time we left the NICU, it was an old routine. Since we have came home, I have been her Mom, friend, nurse, and Dr.. I have learned so much in the past few months. Trust me, I never wanna repeat it, but it has made me a stronger and better person. She and Easton are my world. They are what I live for each and everyday!
So, she went to the eye Dr. the other day, and got a clean bill of health. Her eyes are perfect!!! No more visits for 4 months!!!! Her yes are 100% PERFECT, A REAL DREAM COME TRUE TO US!!!
Thank you all for your prayers. We really appreciate it!!!

Tuesday...

Wow, hard to believe that little Miss Josie will be 6 months old in a few days. Where has the time gone? She is doing great since her port placement surgery, she is almost up to 11 pounds. Monday she rolled over for the first time, she loves to smile, and just sit and talk (coo) with you.... She is just absolutely amazing! Things are just great, she has even started to help hold her bottle, she can do it by herself for a few seconds, and then she lets me take over again. Everyday she does so much more. Easton and Josie are so funny together. He loved her soooo much, he has to hug and kiss on her all the time. He always checks her oxygen, and says "Mom, she is OK..." It is so funny. He too has learned so much in 6 months. He has grown up so fast it seems, it is just great to see them together!
Easton is in transitioning for school, he will start pre-school in January, that's if I can let him go. I just hate it, he has grown up sooo fast. Seems like only yesterday he was the size of Josie, now school? Ughhhh, makes me old. He is so smart, and funny, he gets that from me... He says he is going to be a fireman.... Time will tell......
So, everything is great, and we are all getting along just fine.... Love to you all.....

Surgery Day

Well, it's about 4:30 in the morning, and Josie and I are just sitting here! Today is her surgery day to have her med port placed. I have been dreading this day for a week now. I just wish that she did not have to go through this, I would give anything to trade her places and do this for her. I swore to myself and her that after 100 days in the NICU, I would never leave her again, and now, I have to hand her off to some stranger to do this surgery to her. Honestly, I am just sick... Her and I have been up for a little while, and I just get this huge lump in my throat whenever her little blue eyes look into mine. If I could just make this better for her!
Soon, it will all be over and she will be back to being the happy little princess she is... I will update you all as soon as I get access to a computer, but I have one more favor to ask.
Please as you have all done sooooo many times in the past, please, please pray for her. I know that my grandfather will be watching over her today, but the prayers of others are always helpful...
Thank you all so much...

Bump In The Road......

Well, Josie was not able to get her last infusion. It is just toooo much for her. So, on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. she will have surgery to have a port put in. Things were just going to smoothly, there was bound to be a bump in the road. I just wish that I could trade her places and do this for her. When is enough enough for her. She has been through so much, it's just heartbreaking.
Every Dr. has said that this is the best route for her in the long run, and the way that I look at it is, we have trusted them this long, so we can't lose faith now, right? A girlfriend of mine gave me a new quote, and i just love it...
"If God brought you to it, then God will get you through it". That is the truth.
I know that she is a strong little girl, but it is just so scary. Just the idea of surgery and what she will feel makes my stomach turn.
I'm just glad that she will never remember this. Once we get through this, we will be back on the road to happy and healthy.
She is 9 pounds 8 ounces....
Cooing, and smiling all the time. She is just absolutely amazing!!!! So we are asking once again for you all to please keep her in your prayers!
I will update you more as we get it....
Thanks soooo much.
Love to all.......

5 MONTHS OLD~~~~~~~~

WOW, JOSIE IS 5 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!! Where has the time went. It still feels like only yesterday that she was brought to us so early... I still have a hard time sometimes realizing that everything is ok!!! I guess things were just bad for toooo long, and now, she is doing exceptionally well.
We just stayed around home today. My cousin had her daughters 1st birthday party today, but we did not attend, I was a little nervous of taking her around all those little ones, so we just stayed home and enjoyed the day!!
She is doing great, good reports from all Dr.'s so far, so we will keep praying that things continue to do so well for her. She definitely deserves it.
As for Easton, he loves her more and more each day. It brings tears to my eyes when I see them together. When he holds her hands when she's crying, or if he has to hug and kiss her when he leaves the room, these are the best days of my life.
These 2 little children have brought me such happiness, I can't even begin to explain. I think Easton matures by 5 years each night in his sleep. He just totally amazes me. He is wonderful....
Dusty is great, busy working, trying to make up for some of the time that he has missed in the last 5 months, but he'll get there.
We have a couple date nights planned, in September, we are both in a wedding, and then in November we have the Army's military ball. So that gives us a couple nights to ourselves. MY Mom and Dad are the lucky ones who get to entertain the kids overnight those two nights. LOL They will ALL have a blast.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer, take care and be safe. Love to all!!!

Happy 4th Of July ~

Happy 4th of July, and also Happy Birthday to my husband. Josie got to experience her first set of fireworks last night at Seneca Lake, and then tonight in Caldwell. We stayed in the van, but it was so great for the 4 of us to all get to go together. Easton loved them, and Josie slept right through them. Go figure. Next year they both will be running around, and we won't be able to get them to sit or sleep. LOL
While we were there tonight I got to see some family friends that I have not had the chance to see since Josie was born. One coached my softball team, and the other was my girl scout leader when i was a little girl. They see my mom quite often and ask about my kids all the time. So, it was very nice to see them and their entire family tonight. I think that we all had a moment when we first saw each other. So, to the Franklins, thank you so much for all your prayers. It was great to see you!
Other than that, nothing really going on. Hope you all have a Happy and Safe 4th.

Thursday!

Well, we had our second appointmet with the pulminoligist today, and he said that she is growing beautifully! She weighes 8 pounds 14 ounces... What a ham...................
She is still on the 8th of a liter of oxygen, and he wants to keep her on that for a little while longer just so that she can put all her effort into eating and continue to grow well. He's afraid that if he takes the oxygen away, then she will have to put so much work into breathing and eating that she will not continue to gain as well as she has. So, he knows best... I think she likes that thing in her nose anyways. LOL
As for her infusions for her immune deficiency, we were not as lucky. He said that the blood work that he drew was not good. Meaning that her levels for her immune system are extremely low.. These infusions are something that she might have to do for a very long time, and possibly forever. If the nurses have a hard time with the IV again, the she MIGHT have to go to Akron's Children and have surgery to have a port put in. I hope and pray that we do not have to put her through that. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!!!
So, that is the bug news for now. She is just loving life right now....
We hope that you all have a Happy and safe 4th of July... Dusty's birthday is July 4th, so Josie will get to attend her first birthday party!!!
Happy 4th!!!!!!

Tuesday June 30th...

Well little Miss Josie weighs 8 pounds 12 ounces. She is just growing like a weed. Really don't have a lot to post right now, we are just staying pretty busy.... She loves to go places, and be outside.
She is smiling, and focusing on all things now. She holds her head right up and looks at us. She is so strong. She loves for you to put her on her belly, and us to put our hands behind her feet and she just pushes across the floor. She loves to sit up in your arms and be able to see everything, the only time she likes to lay down now is if she's sleeping, and that's not very often either.
She is such a little miracle. She has just blossomed into a precious little girl so full of life. We cherish everyday with her....

Monday Night

Wow, we have been so busy, and it has been so nice out that Josie has really been able to enjoy the outside. On Saturday we ventured to the zoo, and she slept the entire time.. She did great though. We kept her visors pulled, and didn't let ANYONE touch her, she just enjoyed the ride.
We put a pool up last night, so she was able to spend some time outside today, under the patio of course... She is almost 9 pounds and is changing so much,. She loves to just sit and stare at us, she can really focus now.
We got great news from the physical and occupational therapy- They said that she is doing great and that they will check on her once a month, but at this time she is doing more than what she should be. So, obviously we are thrilled!!!
We have a small break from Dr.'s appointments until the 30th, so we are going to just enjoy being at home, and enjoy this lovely weather.....
Love to you all......

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY- Wednesday afternoon

Wow, what a busy week we have had. Josie is up to 8 pounds 4 ounces now. She is getting so big so fast! We went to the pulminoligist on Monday, and he said that she was doing great. We have her at an 8th of a liter of oxygen and she is doing so well with it. She is sure keeping us busy. Easton is loving her, we lay her on the floor and he loves to lay beside her, I think that they will be best buds when they get older, I'm sure they will!
We go back to the pulminoligist in 2 weeks and w will see what goes on then, we know that he is going to taker her off her diuretics, so that is a big step for her, she has been on them since she got sick.
She had her other infusion of the artificial immune globlins, and she did ok once they got the I.V. in her head. I hate when they have to put it in her head, but her veins are so small, and the infusion takes 6 hours, so they have to find a big vein to hold up for the whole infusion.
Hopefully we don't have to do that again, that was her 3rd one....
So, we are staying very busy, just loving being home with our family. She has went a few places, but not to many, still just a little scary.
We will keep you all updated. Talk to you all soon. Love you all.....

Thursday

So, Josie will be 4 months old tomorrow! Crazy how fast the time has went. She had a check up today and she weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces. Almost 8 pounds. She is doing great, as you can see she is growing like a weed. Nothing really new, we will have more of an update Monday.....
Take care, and love to you all.....

Tuesday Afternoon

Well, I think that the wrong people got the impression on my venting episode last night. LOL I was talking about the other side of the family. LOL My family and friends have been wonderful. Barbie, we love you, and are thinking of you and your sister, and we are all praying for her. I will get you your pictures SOON!!
Morgan and Justin and Cade, you guys are great! We can't wait for you to meet our Little miss Josie, we know that you care so much, your posts sure do show it....
Paula, we have to set up a date for you to meet her. You are always in our thoughts and we can't wait to see you with her...
To all My wonderful family and friends we know that you are there. We love you all so much..
Josie is sleeping right now, a little upset belly today, so we are just relaxing and watching cartoons. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather...
Busy weekend with Josie's infusion on Sunday and the palminoligist on Monday!
We will let you all know what we find out...

Monday Night

So, things are still going great! Just busy! We have family here from Tennessee visiting, and getting the chance to meet Miss Josie. Everyone just can't get over how small she is, I tell them that they should have seen her 4 months ago, that was small. She is doing so wonderful!
Nothing really new, haven't had any Dr.'s appointments, so we have no new news.....
We are so glad that MY family and friends have been there for us, and have taken the time out of there busy schedules to come and visit, or give us a call. Some family that is close doesn't bother to call, it's the family that has to drive for hours that really shows they care. Can you tell some frustration has set in. Dusty and I now see who the real ones are that care...
Can you tell that we have been having our serious talks. We both agreed that someday those people will regret the decisions that they have made, and it will be too late. All WE can say is THANK GOD for my family and friends...
So, now that I have vented to you all, and you think that I have lost my mind, I am going to go and relax with the family! I'm sure that you all have felt this way sometime or another in your life, or maybe not, maybe I was the only one that got sucked in... LOL
Love to you all!!!

Thursday- - -

Well, I think that we have taken another huge sigh of relief, actually, I know we have. We had to go get Josie's hearing retested yesterday, because she failed her screening when we left the NICU. They were afraid that some of the medicine that we had to give Josie to fight the infections had damaged her hearing. But, IT DID NOT!!!!!! SHE PASSED ALL HEARING TESTS!
Then we had her eye exam, and everything is now normal. YES!!!! NO TROUBLE. What a miracle! If we could just get her a new set of lungs. LOL She is getting there, slow but sure, it just takes time and patients!!
She is doing great! She weighs 7 pounds and 6 ounces as of Tuesday! She is getting so big!
My Aunt and her entire family is coming in the weekend from Tennessee, they are so excited to meet her. It has been so hard for them all being so far away!
Everything is going great, and just what we expected. Easton is doing well, still adapting, he hasn't told me to take her back for a few days now, so I think that it might be setting in that she is here to stay!
All is well, and thanks again for everything to all of you! We hope you continue to follow her journey!

Sunday Night

Well, the weekend is over. Is sure was beautiful out. We went to my MOm and Dad's, and Easton ran wild!!!! My grandma who was here from New York visiting is leaving in the morning. Months. months ago, she decided to come so that she could be here in May when Josie was born, but as we all know Josie decided to come a lot earlier then that. It is soooo hard to say good bye, and she just loves the kids so so so much. She is planning on coming back in September and staying the winter, so we will be looking forward to that. I love when she comes, and hate when she leaves. Easton just loves her so much, he will not understand why she is not here. It has been so amazing to have her here, and be here for Josie's homecoming!
Josie is doing great! Eating 3 ounces every three hours. She is such a pig! She has changed so much since we brought her home. It's amazing! She weighed 7 pounds on Friday, so I can't wait to see what she weighs in the morning! I have lots of new pics, just gotta get the time to put them all up! LOL It's a little rough with her and Easton sometimes, lol, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!!

Friday- One Week Since Homecomng!

It has been one week since Josie finally made it home. What a week it has been. She weighs 7 pounds .4 ounces today, She is filling out so much. She is doing wonderful, they say that when they come home, they blossom, and she has definitely done that.
She basically just sleeps and eats, she is starting to have a little more awake time, but with her chronic lung disease, eating is a lot of work.
She failed her hearing test, so they are afraid that with all the medicine that she was on, she might have some hearing loss. We got to Akron Childrens on Wednesday, and we will know more then. If she does, then we will deal with it. At this point, I am just so thankful to have her home in our arms, I can handle that. We will be just fine.
We have a lot of Dr.'s appointments in the next few weeks, but I will post as soon as I have the time. Easton and Josie keep me pretty busy.
Easton is doing well, still adjusting, but that is to be expected, we can't forget that he's only 2!
Dusty and I are doing great, It's nice to spend time together and all be in one place and not running different directions. Life is good!!!!!!
I'll update more later!