Ears, Tears and Fears

EARS
We have officially become hippies, according to Erik. Instead of having tubes put in Conner's ears, we've been putting Garlic/Oil drops in them and taking him to a chiropractor! Sounds weird, I know, but it's all but completely healed Conner's cycle of ear infections!
Dr. Gordon explained that little kiddos with chronic ear infections don't respond to antibiotics because there isn't any blood flow into the Eustachian tube to deliver the medication to the infected junk. What he did for Conner was to stick his finger in Conner's mouth for a second to feel the opening of the Eustachian tube, unplug it and pull the tube straight real quick in hopes of encouraging natural drainage into his throat. The Garlic/Oil drops in the ears are supposed to penetrate the eardrum and act as a cleaning agent as well.
It took a few visits (at $15 a visit)to be effective, but as of yesterday's check up, Conner's ears are clear! That means we've saved the expenses of repeat doctor/specialist visits, medication costs, and the $1,000 deductible for the surgical procedure of putting in tubes. We also saved ourselves the trauma of repeating harsh antibiotics and having to put our baby boy to sleep to cut into his eardrums....I'm not anti-tubes, but I'm grateful that we found an alternative solution!

TEARS
In the midst of the joys over Conner feeling better (and consequently sleeping 11 hours a night!!!), walking and overall just being the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life, I had a momentary pause for grief yesterday. It was the second anniversary of my second miscarriage. Even though my miscarriages were back-to-back and super early, and I came out on the other end of the journey with the best gift possible (a perfectly healthy baby boy), I still feel the need to honor my first two kiddos' existence somehow...so last night I asked Erik to accompany me to dinner :)
In a sense, it's a sweet wound to bear - to be reminded of the hope of heaven. I feel like the experience of loss opened up a whole new aspect of my relationship with the Lord that is at once precious and raw and extremely humbling. I don't always know how to wrap my mind around His giving and taking away, but for the most part I'm ok with not getting it...


FEARS
Erik's dad is in the hospital trying to recover from a knee replacement surgery. His kidneys have been very slow to "wake up" from the anesthesia and start doing their job of cleaning the toxins out of his body. Thankfully, today, they started to function better and Jim was able to avoid dialysis! We hope he makes a full recovery soon.

New Beginnings

A new year brings new hope to finally check off some of those "to-dos" that have been rolling around in the back of your mind. This "to-do", blogging, has been rolling around so long that it is all dinged up! But, seeing as how vintage and shabby chic are in these days, this blog just might be coming on the scene at just the right time!
With the few minutes I have left to "multitask" here at work (shhh, don't tell...) I'll give you a taste of what I'm looking forward to in 2012:
*Craft-O-Rama 2012: Round 1 at the end of January! I ended 2011 by crafting it up with some girlfriends and had a blast! Being a new mommy, I've realized that I need to set aside times like this that I can be just ME. Can't wait to see the Valentine's Day love that we create!
*All things Conner:
-Walking: he just took his first steps this weekend!
-Ears: He'll be getting tubes in the next week or so. Hopefully he'll feel better!
-BIRTHDAY! He's turning ONE in just a few weeks!!
*Finding a church home. Erik and I are in a really good season of spiritual growth that I'm excited to see continue.
*Getting our house back. Mom 'n'dad, I love you, but I'm ready to be the woman of the house again!
*Making a sibling for Conner Bug?!?!
*Turning 29. My last year in my twenties...Finally the age that Erik was when we met! That means we've known each other/been together for eight years!
*Visiting the homeland (Nebraska) for a McHenry family reunion.
*W.E.R.M second annual trip to ???? Can't wait to spend exclusive time with great friends this summer!