Well summer is here and it is hot. Our family has found itself at the pool quite a bit lately. Ever since we got Josiah a life jacket his confidence in the water has grown. It has been refreshing just to relax at the neighborhood pool. Now if they would just get the pump to work right everything would be perfect. In spite of the leaves in the pool, we sure are having fun! It is still cleaner than swimming in the lake!!!
Yesterday, was a guys day! Stephanie had work, a hair cut, dinner with a friend, and coffee/book review gathering discussing the book they are reading. Thus, it left the boys and I here all alone. It was fun, we went to the pool, ate ramen noodle, watched TV, and then went to sleep.
The pool was awesome, we went right around 4:30ish, so there weren’t a lot of people there. However, I did get hit on by another mother. As I was throwing a football back and forth with Josiah and pushing Jackson in his Crab, a lady with probably a 1 and a half year old came right up to me to talk. She even got in the water, talking about how her daughter wanted to come see the baby (Jackson). As she was talking, she commented on Jackson eyes. I was able to say that He got the blue eyes from his mommy. The lady didn’t stay much longer after that.
Maybe I am blowing it out of proportion, but I have never gotten in cold water, the water in the pool is still pretty cold, went up to a complete stranger and started talking. It made me wish my wife was there with us. When she is gone it’s just not the same!
Today was a hard day for our 4 year old. It was the last day of school for summer. There will be one day that he can’t wait for summer but today wasn’t one of them. He had to say bye to his two other Super Hero friends that have been in his class all year. He has learned so much from his teachers and we are so thankful for what he is learning.
Tonight as I was grilling some BBQ pork steak, Josiah was swinging on his swing singing as loud as he could a song he learned at school. “The B-I-E-L-E, yes thats the book for me, I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-E-L-E.” He gets his poor spelling from his dad. One of these days he will spell it right, but until then it sure is cute hearing him sing this without shame!
Here are some pics from today. We swung, ate, and then hit the pool. Josiah is getting more confident in the water now that he has a life jacket vs arm floaties.
Today I joined the family for lunch at pei wei, my wife’s favorite asian food. From there I got tricked to spending the rest of the afternoon at McKinney Trade Days. Brings to life the saying, One mans junk is an other mans treasure. Not all spots were like that. Some of them had some things worth buying. The highlight for me was watching Josiah ride a horse for the first time. He had a blast and wasn’t scared. Probably helped that there was a little girl on a horse already.
After all this,we went home and got out Jackson Birthday present and let the boys play with it . . .
They had a good time, got wet, and realized the water was cold. After playing for a little while Jackson went in and Joe changed, just to come back out get get even more wet . . .
I guess thats bond to happen when they play with a water table. He had a blast though and started running through the hose also. Great way to end an 85 degree day.
Tomorrow we will celebrate Jacksons 1st birthday. He had a cupcake on his actual birthday which was the 13th. Here is what was left of the cupcake with yellow icing.
I am sure tomorrow will look the same!
Josiah got a package from Nanna a couple of days ago. Every-once in awhile she will send him a care package. This time it had six-lets and clothes inside. This afternoon, Josiah went to change into some shorts, so i thought. But instead of shorts, he put on one of his new outfits. As I walked into his room this is what he told me, “This outfit make me look soooooo good!” Here is a pic of his new outfit that makes him sooooo look good. Thank you Nanna!!!
Well I don’t know where to start. Stephanie took Jackson the the pediatrician on Friday who told her they didn’t think Jackson had a Febrile Seizure but that another type of seizure might be trying to surface. The doctor said we need to see our neurologist to see what the next steps are. I am so sick of going to the doctors!!!!!
So the news Friday was not the news we wanted to hear. Jackson is doing ok. He has pneumonia and is on an antibiotic and motrin/tylenol along with his meds for the mioclonic seizures that he has been on since January. Which until Thursday, was doing amazing things. So we are praying! Praying that God would again intervene like He has Jackson whole life. Even though short, He has a testimony and so do we. Please pray with us, as we pray for his health and our sanity.
LIfe Lesson: Life is fragile, handle it with care and take advantage of the moments you have, you never know how many are left!
WOW! God is so big. The devo I read for Friday was supposed to be my devotional for Thursday, but sadly I let the day get away and simply ran out of hours when a family crisis happened in the early Evening.
Yesterday is a day I never want to repeat. I put Jackson down for a nap but when he woke up he was lethargic and not that responsive. Stephanie picked him up out of a pool of drool and ran him down the stairs. As I held his limp, warm, wet body, I knew we needed to get him to a hospital. As a dad, every good and bad thought was running through my mind. Not knowing for sure if we could make it to the hospital, we stopped at the fire station just down the road from our house. As I handed him to the EMT, he immediately took Jackson to the ambulance. After a short stay, they took him to the hospital with lights and sirens. Stephanie rode with him while Josiah and I followed in our own vehicle. We were heading to the hospital in the middle of Rush Hour. All I could do was pray. I had no idea what was happening in the ambulance, was he getting better, was he getting worse. I called one of our friends to ask them to pray and to let them know we were going to the hospital.
As we got to he hospital they put us in a room, the waiting room sign said the wait was 4-5 hours, how can a hospital seriously make people wait that long?? Thats beside the point, we had a room and I was headed there not knowing what I would walk in on.
Jackson was laying there kinda just staring off into space, almost as if he could see us but couldn’t do anything to acknowledge us. After a few questions, and a few test, and 4 hours of not knowing what had happened, Jackson started to return to his normal self. Thankfully, our friends met us there and took Josiah for us. The doctor came in and told us that Jackson has a stint of pneumonia and probably suffered from a febrile seizure. He put him on an antibiotic and told us to give him Motrin and Tylenol. He said they could admit him but he didn’t feel it was necessary since the blood-work looked so good and the x-ray showed a very small development of the pneumonia. As we drove home we couldn’t help but be thankful that Jackson was ok. We were exhausted. Neither one of us slept very well last night. Every cough and move Jackson made last night caused us to look to see if he was ok. He has a doctors appointment today and we will see what the pediatrician has to say.
Last night put a new meaning to verse 4 and it will forever be etched in my heart,
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Today was the second part of Josiah’s b-day. He loves Thomas the Train, and today was his special day to see Thomas in person, It was awesome! He got to see Sir Topham Hat, Thomas the Train, the Conductors, watch a Magician, get a tattoo, jump in a bounce house, ride in one of Thomas’s Coaches as Thomas pulled the train, as well as drive a little train by himself. The day was great, both Jackson and Josiah were pretty good and the excitement was priceless. We had a blast as a family. Josiah was in Thomas Heaven . . . especially when he was the first one to be able to load the the train after the conductor shouted, “All aboard!!!”
What a day! My wife described it as a Star Wars convention for kids. I thought that was pretty funny . . . when you think about it, that isn’t far from the truth. Anyways, we had a great time and if a day with Thomas is going to be in your area and you have a Thomas Fan, we would encourage you to check it out. Here are some pictures from today.
I don’t understand our boys! Josiah the oldest who is now 4 threw a fit when we didn’t let him get in the pack and play with his 10 month old brother Jackson. While Joe was crying on the outside to get in, Jackson was crying from the inside of the pack and play to get out . . . So we did what any good parent would do . . . COMPROMISE! Here’s what happened next . . .
Yesterday the weather was awesome here in Texas. It was a little too windy for a bike ride so we took a walk and pulled the boys in a wagon. It was a good time and they both actually did really well sitting together for the adventure. Fun Times!
Dan Gould 
