Happy holidays

It's been awhile, lots of positive updates though. Last Tuesday brooks had a procedure and it took him about 5 days of recovery but he is doing awesome! Wednesday, my birthday, he was taken off respiratory support and is doing quite well. In the next couple of days he is going to get a shot at a bottle. He is also approaching the 7 pound mark!

Meredith is also doing well, she has reflux so that has slowed her bottle feeding progress but she's still holding steady otherwise. She is now 6 pounds!! 

We have no timeline for homecoming, which we are accustom to no solid answers at this point just continue to pray for the positive to be on our path. 

We are now on Christmas break until January 6th so we are looking forward to family time as well as some time with the twins in Columbia. 

Today we spent the day building a snowman, Oliver loves the snow. He also had a play date with the coy/Johnson family down the road! We also received several donations for gas, lodging, and ancillary things. Thank you to all those who bought gun raffle tickets, coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts and others for the cards, gift cards, meals, and everything else (those unspoken too). We feel very blessed and fortunate to have the friends, family, and community surrounding us and doing what they can to help! We love you all and appreciate every thing!

Merry Christmas to all and many blessings on a new year full of blessings!

On the road again

Tonight marked the start to the lady tiger basketball 2013-14 campaign. We opened with a hard fought win over a scrappy sacred heart griffin team. It wasn't pretty, but the first game never is. Many people probably wonder how I can coach while Brooks and Meredith are still in the NICU or be away from Oliver. I know it's a bit selfish, but it's my out my time to relax (right coaching is relaxing) to forgot how hard this all really is. I love each of the girls I coach and have such special bonds and relationships with this young ladies. I hope that I'm helping then mature and learn about life and become more equipped to handle life. I feel like I'm an example to them: of faith, courage, love, dedication, sacrifice, and determination. It's also some more adult time for me, away from nurses and doctors and all the dings of the NICU. Sara(the head coach) and I have a very unique relationship and have really grown through a lot of challenges our team or ourselves have/are facing. We lean in each other for a lot of different things and reason and I'm so thankful for her. We also talk basketball and I don't have another friend like that in Kirksville. Getting to brainstorm plays, match ups, defenses, scouts, practices; it's all part of my passion for the game. We both get it about each other, Kevin tries but wrestling just different for him.

So I thank basketball and my lady tiger family for being my distraction.

We had kind of a rocky weekend, but things for Brooks and Meredith seem to be on the up and up. Both had to get another blood transfusion, they're bone marrow just can't keep up with how fast they are growing right. Is-part of being so premature. Both of them received good news that their eyes are mature and look good, that means no ROP and no trip to the specialist in St. Louis. That was a huge weight of our shoulders-prayer answered. Brooks now weighs 5 pounds 1 ounce yippee, that's a huge milestone. Meredith is right in his heels at 4 pounds 8 ounces. At times I feel like my life is surreal, all that we are going through and learning about medicine. Everytime they give me a little grin or open their eyes and look at me my heart melts. I'm so thankful to be their momma. I am excited for the adventures out family is going to have down the road.

Oliver is such a funny kid. He is in love with Dorothy and the wizard of oz. we watched it Saturday and Sunday! He remembered this morning apples and tornado. It's amazing the parts of the movie that leave an impression on him. We also watched the grinch last night and be called in scary grinch and said grinch in his meanest deepest voice. It's hard  it to laugh at his behavior or what he says, especially when he is doing or saying something we don't want him to. I love rocking him to sleep at night and singing (in my bad key tone) even If it takes an hour.

Kevin doesn't talk much about it all, I know he's trying to be th rock, the man, the steadfast driver of our crazy train. I think he is constantly thinking about the twins and their medical care, questions for doctors and nurses, treatment plans, where are things going, what to expect, what's going to happen next. I'm glad he's been able to hunt this fall and have that time to relax. I'm glad we have each other to get through this.

Well mom and dad are going to be here this week, maybe I'll post some pictures of the work their doing! I have the best parents ever. I know I haven't always thought that and I know as teenagers and kids we don't have the perspective, but boy I'm beyond thankful. From their support; emotionally, mentally, financially, and physically they are amazing. I wish we lived closer but love knows no bounds!!

Well this bus ride home from Marshall is drawing to a close so will this post. Thank you again for the caring, loving thoughts, prayers, words and actions. 

From Powellland

Lub you

Big Day

Tomorrow is another big day in the lives of the Powell family. Brooks has to have a procedure done as a result of a complication shortly after birth. Everything should go smoothly it is just scary as parents for our tiny little guy to have to be going through what he is! It seems like all around me everyone is having struggles, not your everyday, non-life altering struggles, but cancer treatment, family medical concerns, family struggles. However, each of us is strong in our faith and unwavering and that is what will get us through and to the end of the darkness that seems to be engulfing our path. God won't leave us he will lead us!

I wish so badly that I could make things easier for Brooks, take away his struggles, his pain and make them mine. I wish that I was still pregnant and we didn't to be going through all of these hard times, the worry, waiting and unanswered questions. There are so many unknowns and its hard to swallow at times. I have had moments where I want to breakdown, but I stay strong. I CAN do this, I WILL do this. I will be an example of strength, faith, love, devotion. I will get my family through this because that's what I know how to do, is push through, not give up, be positive, find the bright side.

As Christmas nears and the uncertainty of when our family will all be under the same roof I can't help but feel so many emotions. I'm scared not to have nurses at home, what kind of special care (if any) will they need, what kind of extra equipment will we bring home, who will watch them when I have to go back to work, how much is this going to cost, how is Oliver going to handle all the changes..... Quite simply I experience some level of fear, and anxiety about it all but what calms me is this:

Philippians4:6-7
⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
AMEN

Well we are almost home from our basketball trip to Hannibal, It's going to get better, no one said it would be easy! NEver lose faith and never give up!

LUB YOU ALL