These are the boys, Colby De Vries a first grader at Sully Christian, Noah, in kindergarten at Pella Christian, Henry James, who just turned one, one of the "big boys" Randy, with his 3 year old, Tysen.

This is Georgia at 3 weeks and Jessa at 10 weeks! Hard to beleive how much they grow and change is such a little amount of time. We are looking forward to lots of fun with these two little gals, who will no doubt spend a lot of time running after the 4 boys!

This is me, Georgia, at 5 weeks old, i decided to try on something that was NOT pink...but mommie and nana still like to dress me up in ALL pink, or green, or lavender! I've even heard talk of a dress, and a headband with a flower on it!! I'll just keep dreaming of when I can go out and fish with daddy and poppa!!

doctor update: Val's meds are being adjusted, increasing the "water pill", which hopefully takes down the fluid, but that might also mess up a few other meds, and blood pressure..My but the body is a complicated and complex machine"! If yours is working anywhere close to "normal" tonight, you should go to bed very grateful!

A probably heart ultrasound in Pella on Friday, and then a return visit to the doctor next week, as we monitor symptoms and hopefully report progress next week.

Georgia says..good night, or time to party, I'm not sure yet which is which!

Too Busy to Blog

if you've been checking in, you may have noticed, we havent' had much to say! it amazes me how the day flies by...and how busy we are just getting up, getting dressed, eating..and taking care of Georgia! She's doing great, and I hope on Saturday to post a few pics. Her sleeping habits are still not what we'd like, but we see signs of her adapting to sleeping at night.
Our Nanny Laurie has returned from NW Iowa! We are GLAD that Western Christian of HUll made it into the Boys State BB tournement in DM, for that brought Cousin Laurie to Desmoines and then to our house! I feel like we've totally taken advantage of her, by letting her sleep on our sofa, right next to the swing where Georgia spends her nights! But the nanny seems to enjoy these accomidations, and only asks that she has off to enjoy the ball games. That we can manage!
Val will return to see her Heart Doctors in Des Moines today, shes' been retaining fluid again, and this is a problem we must stay on top of, so pray for a good report and easy solution to this current problem. Val continues to struggle with exhaustion, but is really dealing with everything rather well, and finding much joy in taking care of Georgia.
Our needs have been met in so many ways, including delicious meals made for us every night for the past two weeks! Dennis' cousin Joan Van Zante (rjvanzante@gmail.com) has done an excellant job of organizing this for us and also providing a couple meals herself! When the days have seemed long from lack of sleep or too many appointments, we have always been able to sit down to a meal as a family at home. A simple pleasure that after a few weeks of hospital cafeteria food, really hit the spot! Our sincere thanks to all of you who have helped us in this way.
If you should notice the time of this post, you'll see that I am in fact UP early! I think I may have ALMOST gotten too much sleep last night! Perhaps I should be storing up , for when the nanny returns home!
I am still on leave from KCWN. Sometimes I miss it..Sometimes I can't beleive I ever did have a life before this current one! But I guess it's all part of learning to Trust...
Thanks for caring for us
Bev

Sunday

AFter a night of little sleep and lots of visits between Georgia and myself, I thought church would be out of the question for this past Sunday. But when I finally grabbed two hours of sleep between 6 and 8 AM I awoke to find Val all showered sitting on the sofa asking if we shouldn't all be up to get ready for church! so within an hour all four of us were ready and heading for Pella II.
We had not been in church for a month, and it was Sweet to be back. Our church family has been so faithful in praying for Valerie's health and for the heathly birth of Georgia, and on Sunday we were able to present our living miracle.
For me, Sunday was super Sweet, for many reasons. Family. Gems Sunday. Gems, a club for Girls in the CRC, used to be called Calvinettes. There were celebrating their 50th anniversary. I remember when i was a little girl, being obsessed with the
Cadet Club of the First CRC in Oskaloosa. My dad was a leader and the boys met in our basement. I would lay on the living room floor every Wednesday night with my ear pressed to the floor to hear them singing along with our record player, all 3 verses and the wonderful chorus of Living for Jesus. ( a song that i know by heart to this day...) I wanted to badly to be a Cadet, but alas this was for boys only! I remember reading their magazine one Sunday afernoon, when my dad told me about Calvinettes, and from that conversation, I wrote my very first letter to a council of the church, requesting that they start a Calvinette Club in our church. I'm not sure how long it took, but thanks to lots of caring loving people in that church, we had a Calvinette Club! WAtching the video about the history of the GEMS in church, i know lots of ladies were remembering their own Calvinette story, complete with blue jumper, white blouse, and scarf and badges! The them of the video was "begin with small ones"...
that phrase hit me...begin with small ones...which seems to be exactly what i've been called to do in the past few weeks and the weeks ahead. Who knows what God has planned for Valerie and Georgia to do in His kingdom? who knows where all these sleepless nights will take a tiny little girl later in life? so in the hours when I would rather be sleeping, we're spending sweet time together..beginning with small ones..
Oh and if just being in church with our friends and family wasn't enough, and celebrating GEMS< our Praise Band was leading worship. I am their biggest "fan", which means I love using the music I bring to your on KCWN in worship (for me, it helps connect everyday worship with Sunday worship... I realized I had not sung a song for over a month! (except for one poorly sung but heartful accapella rendition of Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow when Val took her second dose of Gleevac without throwing up!!) It was Good to sing Praises to our God. with the band. Making a joyful loud noise..In church. a good Sunday.
Our whole family came over for supper, and it was good to see ALL the kids, including baby Jessa, who is so loves to be talked to and smiles and coos and tried very hard to talk back! I think she knows she'll have to get on with it to keep up with all the boys!!
It was an exhuasting day, but ever so sweet, and well, Normal.

we've spent every day since recovering!

A doctor's visit on Tuesday gave us good news that Val's white cell count has continued to go down, now at 12000. It was 58000 after GEorgia's birth. I'm not sure about the usual amount of time for Gleevac to work, but I would think this is pretty fast, and that's cuz I'm pretty sure it's NOT all about the Gleevac..it's about Faith and the prayers of many many people. While we still have a long ways to go, we are on the road..with a light at the end.

Miss Georgia also had a chance to get on the scale and we report her weight is now 6 pounds 9 and half ounces! Seems all those late night snacks are doing her a lot of good! We're both gaining really well..but nanna has to find a way to stop!

Thanks for checking in on us, sorry i've been away for a few days. i cant' beleive how busy we are! the meals that cousin Joan organized for us have been wonderful!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! I think we're covered through the end of this week, then I might have to figure out how to do more than wash dishes and fix bottles in the kitchen!!

Hope you were able to find us after our move from the KCWN web page!! you can still respond to this blog,or email us directly at bdevries@lisco.com

Seize the Day
bev