On the mend...

After a somewhat tumultuous evening, I can confidently say the little guy is doing better. He slept only a few hours in his bed last night and spent the rest of night sleeping upright in his daddy's arms. (this has always been a talent of Tucker's--sleeping upright..hmmm...) This morning I took the day off and Patch and I cuddled and watched cartoon and even played on the floor a little. I managed to get him to eat a bit of banana and of course plenty of Gatorade. By the time 11:00 rolled around, the little guy was beat and slept until I woke him up at 3:30! It's so good that he is finally feeling better and is normal, silly self is beginning to peak out behind the sickness.

Poor sick Patchy

Today Patch was diagnosed with pneumonia. For anyone who knows our story well, you know this is not the first case of a Hearn baby with this. Thankfully, his case seems to be far more mild than Elizabeth's was nearly 5 years ago. But still, the feeling of helplessness to protect my baby came rushing back to me. How dare these yucky germs invade MY Patchy. Who do they think they are? But as I do when all of my little ones are sick, I will think of nothing else until he is his happy, joyful self once again. I will force feed Gatorade and Jello down his throat. I will give him popsicles every time he is willing to take them. I will keep all traces of dairy away from his tiny-mucus filled body. And I will, although I will probably cry while doing it, hold him tight for 15 minutes, three times a day to administer the dreaded nebulizer treatments. I'm a Mommy. It's what I do. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. (Thank God that it's me)

Something new everyday

I talked earlier of how my family is constantly teaching me. It amazes me (and maybe naively so) how after almost 12 years of marriage, I feel like I have only begun to learn about Tucker. Maybe it is because we are constantly changing and growing. Or maybe it is God's way of saying that our perceptions aren't always reality, and to really grow with one another, all assumptions must be checked at the door.
Tucker and I have enrolled in a 6 week marriage seminar at church based on the movie FIREPROOF. For anyone in any relationship, I highly recommend it. It is a realistic look at how life's ordinary stresses can build up to seriously wound a marriage. How grateful I was to realize these occurrences are not limited to my relationship alone! Tucker's willingness to even participate in this program was a blessing, as he can become uncomfortable faith-based talk in a large group setting. Since we began our Fireproof journey together, I am constantly reminded how important it is not to assume you know everything about how your spouse thinks. I realize now that many of our problems in the past could be traced to the fact that we did not give eachother time to be listened to.
Everyday I learn something new about Tucker. I am so thankful that that book is still being written.

Here We Go...

Hopefully, all will enjoy my plunge into the world of blogging. Because I am often caught musing uncontrollably about my family, this seems like it may be a good thing! Every day I learn something new from one of the precious members of my dear family and I hope to be able to share those lessons with you.
Those "teachers" include:
Emily, my bookish and very sensitive 11 year old,
Elizabeth, aka Lou, my spunky and sporty 7 year old,
Charlie, my sweet cuddle bug-soon to be 5,
Patch, the littlest of them all, 1 year old and full of vigor,
and of course my darling husband, Tucker, whose intelligence is beyond anything I have ever seen, but whose heart far surpasses even that.

For me, to share with you my family, is truly a gift.