Thanksgiving Ups and Downs

Thanksgiving arrived, and Claire Grace continues to be cared for in the NICU. So instead of baking pies and roasting turkey, Jim and I opted to keep Annie and Justin company at the hospital, visit little Claire, and create Thanksgiving memories of a nontraditional kind. During the last couple of days Claire has endured little spells where she stops breathing. It happened at first during feeding times as she was working so hard to eat. Then later some of them occurred during her sleep. She just sleeps so hard that she forgets to breathe! So, the newest development is that on Thanksgiving day the doctor decided she needed to be on oxygen. So another "wire" has been added, and below you can see her "new look." The good news is that she is no longer under the lights for jaundice (she was taken off once and then needed to be put back under), and though she had lost weight, she is now gaining. She is almost back to her birth weight. In spite of all that Claire has been through so far (they just keep poking needles in my feet!) she is so sweet and mellow.

We finally convinced Grandpa Jim to hold her, and here they are together. He looks pretty comfortable with her, doesn't he?

Between feedings, we hung out in one of the lounges at the hospital and played Phase 10 and Hearts (yes, even Annie!!) Then Jim and I went over to Annie and Justin's house where I heated up our Thanksgiving dinner of Corn Bread Stuffed peppers, salad, and rolls, and then we brought it over and ate together. We were glad to be able to be together, though not in a way we would have planned or expected. Little Claire Grace is our newest blessing, and we'll take her however she is given.


*As a postscript to the "Ups and Downs" of Thanksgiving - one of the ups was that the hospital didn't charge for parking. The downer, though, was that a local cop decided to bless us with a speeding ticket on our way over to Annie and Justin's to get dinner. You know, one of those end-of-the-month, holiday quota things. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, sir!

Schumachers Three

On Tuesday I brought lunch to the hospital for Annie and Justin and had a fun visit with little Claire. This is a picture of the new little family. Tuesday brought some more difficult news, though. After hearing a heart murmur, the doctors did an echocardiogram (I think??) and discovered two holes in her heart. One is normal for 36 weeks of development and will most likely close up, but the other is not, and will need to be monitored as she grows. See Annie's blog for more details http://shoeprint.blogspot.com/*

I got to hold Claire for the first time today, too. She is just too precious. She is already so loved.

*Sorry - I don't know how to install those little links to other blogs yet.

Sunday Sleepover

Joel, our oldest grandchild (4) is always wondering when he can come to Gma/Gpa's for a sleepover all by himself. We hadn't done this for awhile with my subbing schedule and his preschool schedule not matching up too well. But I have more free time this week, so I decided to invite him to spend the night on Sunday. We did some of his favorite things, which include hot tubbin' and building cities with Grandpa, using Joel's foam blocks. This time they built Disney World. Joel made Cinderella's Castle (Grandpa helped him build a monorail leading up to the castle) and Grandpa built the Tower of Terror. They used all of the extra random blocks to build a "lazy river." So fun!

Joel is sitting next to Cinderella's Castle with the monorail in front. The Tower of Terror is behind him to the left.

On Monday morning Joel helped Grandma make some Christmas cookies using her cookie press. He did a great job decorating and also gave the cookie press a few cranks, knowing exactly how far to turn it for each cookie. We had a great time!

More pics of our newest little rose

Though still hooked up to some wires, and in the NICU, Claire seems calm and content.

Mama Annie is beaming! In this picture, you can see a few of the bruises Claire received from her rough delivery. But she is a trooper, and doing very well!

Look at all that black hair!! If she were a boy, she'd need a haircut!

Blessed from Above

Yesterday was one of those days you just feel those blessings pouring down from God, and also enjoy his amazing planning. Our little granddaughter (Annie and Justin's expected child) was due December 24. Apart from those "oh, how perfect . . . a Christmas gift baby" thoughts and comments, our family had also discussed how "not fair" a 12-24 birthday is for the recipient. (Even Jorie, our oldest, whose birthday is December 11, has always wished her birthday was further set apart from the holidays.) And of late, Annie has been most miserable with water retention, swollen ankles, and then back pain from lying on her back to relieve the swollen ankles, etc. etc. Well, not to worry, our awesome God who has all things perfectly planned for us, revealed His plan yesterday and brought precious little Claire Grace Schumacher into the world. Her birthday is NOVEMBER 20!!! It is not even the same MONTH as Christmas!! Who would have even imagined. We are so thankful!! Annie had a difficult delivery, but came through with shining colors, and credited Justin as well with his skills as delivery coach. Though 5 weeks early, Claire weighed in at 5 pounds 15 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. She has a full head of dark hair, and of course is beautiful. She spent the first night in the NICU to monitor her for low blood sugar and blood pressure, but all of her other vitals look good. Our family is so blessed. A Thanksgiving baby is even more perfect than a Christmas one!

Flashback . . .

Turn the clock back 42 years . . . Honey Rock Camp, Three Lakes, WI . . . the time and place I met my awesome hubby! A few weeks ago we spent a fun weekend in the Eagle River/Three Lakes, WI area and made a special visit to Honey Rock where our romance began. It was a gorgeous fall day, and in the picture we're standing on the deck of the "new" dining hall. It overlooks the spot where the former dining hall sat - the place Jim was working as a cook that summer we met in 1966. The gorgeous setting still has a special feeling for us. Ahhh . . . fun memories . . . how could it possibly be that long ago??

You don't do that!

So that's the comment I got from my husband when I told him I was creating a blog. He said, "What?? You don't do that!!" Well, I am proving him wrong! Our youngest daughter, Annie, has been a great help trying to keep my in tune with change. She makes suggestions when it comes to new hairstyles and clothes, trying to keep me a "cool mom," and she is also the one who gave me the idea to have my own blog. So yesterday when she was visiting, I said I was ready to start and she helped set me up. It was really pretty simple, but now the problem is what to write about?? Is there any possibility that anything in my very ordinary life could be of interest to someone else??

I'm thinking that this will be a good place to keep track of cute things my grandkids say and do, and thus the name "Rho's (Rose) Garden." This garden must be well- fertilized, cuz since 2004 three little babes have appeared, and in about five weeks, one more little baby girl will be joining us! Not bad - four in four years!! So most likely you will see pictures of these darlings and little stories of their antics, along with bits and pieces about my life.