Our Week In Review

Since all my posts this week have been about Levi's recovery, I wanted to post about some fun stuff we did this week!

Last Saturday, one of the youth orchestra's Jacob conducts performed at the US Space Center. After the performance we toured the museum and watched the IMAX. The rocket in this picture was built entirely from K'NEX! It took two guys a month to build. It was impressive!

Lily loved "driving" this video game. 

Most of Jacob's evening rehearsals are over for the summer! It has been sooo nice having him at home more! We played outside alot and got the kiddie pool out - both kids love it!

Lily had fun watering the flowers and bushes with the pool water. She would live outside and in the pool if we would let her!

We got to spend time with both our families this week, which was so nice! When I told Lily we were going to go to Papaw and Yaya's (my parent's) she ran to get her boots to wear to the barn. She loves all their animals!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Better Day

Yesterday and today were so much better for Mr. Levi! It's wonderful to see him feeling better and a happy baby makes everything much easier! We can't believe how wonderful his lip is looking!

Lil Man is getting smart about getting his arm braces off. Today I had him in the Nap Nanny with his arms strapped down so keep him from raising his hands and wiping his face. Anyway, I was fixing lunch and I heard something fall. Somehow he had wiggled his hand/arm out of the brace and then slung it over onto the floor! I couldn't believe it! If Lily hadn't been out with her Daddy, I would've suspected that she had pulled it off him. Got to love his sly little grin in the picture. He's a mess :o)

Recovery Update

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. The last couple days have been kind of rough. Levi has been really fussy, not sleeping very well, and crying a ton where nothing will comfort him.

It's been so hard to see my little guy like this! The doctor said that normally kids have 2-3 rough days about this time in the recovery process. I'm really hoping today is the last day!

His lip is healing up so well! I can't believe how quickly little ones heal. It looks like once the scabs and stitches are gone there will hardly be any scar left. 

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for us during this time! We appreciate it more than you know. Hopefully I'll be back to more regular posting very soon!

Before and After Video

Jacob put together this video of our precious boy. Hope you enjoy!


We are home and doing well! Levi has been much happier today! We are thankful he is feeling better and healing quickly.

Update on Levi

Our little guy made it through surgery and is peacefully resting in his mama's arms! Thank you all so much for your prayers! Our God is so good!! I'll try to post more details later.

Wide Smiles and Prayer Requests

Someone who had a child with a cleft lip gave me some words of wisdom that I hadn't thought of before - "Enjoy the wide smiles, you will miss them." After Levi's lip is "fixed" he will be able to smile big, but not the wide spread out smiles that he does now. I've been busy catching those sweet smiles on camera, because I think I will miss them!

We are headed to Birmingham tonight since we have to be at Children's at 6 in the morning. Here are several things I would love for you to pray for -

• Safety in traveling (us, family, and friends who will be coming for the surgery)
• Good sleep tonight - Levi can't have any milk after 12am or clear liquids after 4. I'm debating on whether I should wake him up and feed him before 12, or not.
• That Lily would do well staying with Jacob's family. I know she can sense that something is going on, and I just hope she will be a happy girl while we are gone.
• Wisdom beyond themselves for the doctors and nurses who care for our little man.
• That surgery and recovery would go smoothly and Levi would heal quickly.
• For Mama and Daddy as they give their baby over to others to remember that he is in God's Hands. The One who made him will care for him better than we ever can.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement! You mean the world to me! I will try to update here tonight and tomorrow, but I will for sure be updating my Kelly Joy Boutique facebook page frequently.

Lily's Fishy Vitamin

It's quite obvious that Lily has inherited my strong sense of smell! ha! And Jacob was teaching, so that's the background noise.

Happy Monday!

B-I-B-L-E

The B-I-B-L-E

Yes, that's the Book for me!

I stand alone on the Word of God,

The B-I-B-L-E!

Lily was singing/reading to Levi - all I could understand was "Bible" :-)

Random Tornado Thoughts

Just some random things I don't want to forget about April 27, 2011 and the days following the devastation.

• We were without power for 30 hours which was a very short time compared with our family and church family and friends who were without for up to 6 days or more. We live on the same grid as a mental hospital - hospitals/nursing homes were the first to get power back. Only 5 houses on our street are on that grid, we are blessed to be one of them!
• Our neighbors across the street didn't get power back for 4 days. We let them borrow our generator and they came over for hot showers.

• Many family members and church family who came for showers, to do laundry and cook. It was such a neat opportunity to open our home to those in need. We also stored lots of food in our deep freezer for those who's food would otherwise go to waste.
• Since schools were out and Jacob was off, he took a whole day to smoke a ton of meat that had been thawing in people's freezers. We had a big cookout and fed a bunch of people who still were without power. . . or whose power had just come back on. 

• We kept Levi's pre-op appointment in Birmingham because we needed to get gas and food and most of the stores in North Alabama were sold out or you had to wait in mile long (or several mile long) lines.
• Our cell phones had very sketchy service for 3 days. When we got close to Birmingham, we got service and I called my parents land line. I cannot tell you what relief and joy I felt to hear their voices and know that they were ok. 

This line for gas was for the gas station in the distance, the one up close didn't have power to run the pumps.

• It was eerie at night not having power - no street lights, no traffic lights, just pitch blackness. We were under a sun down to sun up curfew to help prevent looting. Anyone who was out without a good reason was arrested.
• We grew very close to our neighbors - one night 4 different families stood outside in the darkness with flashlights glowing, just talking for an hour. 
• So much time was spent outside because no one could watch tv or play video games or be on the internet. That was not a bad thing! :-)

• Our church is helping many families who lost everything in the tornadoes. If you would like to send money, gift cards, or non perishable items (food, clothes, baby items, etc) please email me at kmoon584@gmail.com and I'll give you the church's address. 

All items will be distributed to victims in North Alabama - although North Alabama has gotten very little media coverage, the devastation is incredible. Entire towns were wiped off the map by the EF5 tornado that came through. Our church is thankful for this opportunity to help victims materially, but also for the awesome opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
         

All donations are greatly appreciated!

16 months

Yes, believe it or not, my little Lily turned 16 months on May 1st! She is growing up sooo fast! Here's what she's been doing lately.

• Reading books is pretty much her favorite thing to do...besides going outside!
• Hop on Pop and When The Rain Came Down are her two favorite books right now
• She loves baby dolls and usually takes one with her where ever she goes. She has 4 or 5 in her crib that sleep with her.
• With the warmer weather lately, we've been spending lots of time outside! Whenever we have to come in, she stands at the door saying "side" over and over because she wants to go back out. 

• She is such a big helper to me - she helps empty the dishwasher (by handing me the silverware/utensils and I put them away), put clothes in the washer and dryer and she pulls the clean, dry clothes out of the dryer into a basket, and she loves to take her dirty clothes to the laundry basket in her room.
• Her vocabulary is growing everyday. She tries to say everything we do! She recognizes a few words like "Hi" and "arms up" and she's learning shapes and colors. She is a very eager learner!

• Loving her little brother and tries to play with him and read him stories. Sometimes she gets a little too much in his face, but she usually does pretty well with him. 
• Weighing about 21 pounds and wearing mainly 18 month clothes, but still some 12 month stuff. 
• She wants so bad to wear her panties and not a diaper, but she hasn't gotten peepee down yet. She's great to tell me when she needs to go poopoo though. If any of you have any advice, I'd love to hear it!

• Whenever I'm in the kitchen cooking supper or baking something, she loves to be right there sitting on the counter "helping" me! I love it!
• She's in the stage where she doesn't like people (out and about) getting her face, hugging her, or trying to pick her up. It's a hard stage because it makes family think she doesn't like them anymore, but really she does, she's just Miss Independent! 
• Gradually moving to 1 nap a day. Sometimes she still takes 2 short naps, but we're slowly getting her down to 1 longer nap in the early afternoon.

She is my little love bug who loves to snuggle before bed and after naps. I love her and I'm so thankful to be her mama!

4 Months

Levi turned 4 months old on April 30! I can't believe how fast the days are flying by! Here's what he's been doing lately.

• Chewing on everything - toys, fingers, burp cloths, hair, necklaces, you name it!
• Finally outgrowing newborn clothes! He still wears some, but mostly 0-3 months now.
• Rolling over - tummy to back

• He weighs 11 lbs, but seems to finally be putting on more weight!
• Takes 1.5 - 2 hour naps in the morning and afternoon, and sometimes a short snooze around 6pm
• Goes to bed about 8:30pm and gets up around 6-6:30am

• Takes 4 (6oz) bottles and 1 (8oz) bottle of goat milk each day
• Loves playing on the floor and in the NapNanny
• Always falls asleep in his carseat

He will be having surgery on May 18th at Children's Hospital. Please keep him (and us) in your prayers!

Mama's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom! I am so thankful for her godly example and her love for me and my family. I am also thankful for the privilege to be Mama to my two sweet babes. God has blessed me immeasurably!

Her children rise up, and call her blessed.

Proverbs 31:28

Protection is of the Lord

I'm sure you've heard about the horrible devastation in Alabama from the massive tornadoes that came through on Wednesday. We are safe and our family and friends are safe, but our hearts are broken, just broken for all who have lost loved ones and/or everything they own. 

We were without power for about 30 hours, but our internet just came back on today. All of our family and church family just got power back last night and today so we have been busy helping them.

This destruction is about 6 miles from where we live. 

God was so merciful to us!

I will be posting more pictures and memories over the next few days since this blog is like our family journal. Would you all please keep our state in your prayers?