I think the Bun was dreaming about her first rock concert in the picture above. She sure had the spiked hair for it.

Ella zonked out again early tonight, around 7pm. She slept all the way through the night last night, and we hope she does the same tonight.

Ella enjoyed her first taste of apple juice today. We got her some Martinelli’s (non sparkling) and made it up with equal parts of water. Tina gave it to her throughout the day, and she took almost 4oz total! Our girl also drank a whole bottle of formula during her 12pm feeding. It’s great that she’s getting those calories in her.

Ella was also visited by one of her fans today. Sara came by to wish us well before we head back to CO. On that note, only 3 days ’till Doug and I drive back to CO, and 10 days until Ella is really home.

Can’t believe it’s almost here. Hoping and praying that the weather behaves.

Thanks for the continued support and prayers!

ATTENTION SHANDS STAFF: Ella will be coming by the NICU for her last visit before heading home to Colorado. Join us this Thursday, May 22nd, anytime between 6:15pm – 8:15pm in the conference room. Hope to see you there!

Other than Ella getting up extra early this morning (you always know it is too early when it is still dark outside), we had a great day together. She was in such a great mood, especially during her bath.

She had 2 good PT sessions between yesterday and today. I recommended a different approach to mix things up and sure enough, Ella responded much more favorably. Thank goodness!

You know it is bad when you have to bribe your daughter for tummy time. She was content while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my Mac. I can tell that she is getting stronger each day.

Today, she was actually smiling at the PT which warmed my heart. It has taken a session every day for nearly 4 weeks and finally, she is not completely melting down. I know that process is going to have to start all over again in Denver. I just hope that the new PT I’ve scheduled is a good match for us.

Once again, I’m thankful for the experience we have had since we left the hospital. We have been exposed to excellent surgeons, physicians, occupational therapists, and physical therapists during our stay. Although parents can get a “gut feel”, it is nice to feel more knowledgeable about what to expect for Ella and to have gained more discernment in this arena. Since parenting is new and Ella’s care is so different than an average baby, this investment of time was a wise decision for us. This way, when we go home to Denver and are screening doctors and therapists, we have a comparison in our minds.

We lose our couch, rocking chair and end tables tomorrow. Although we have sold some other items on Craigslist, that will really make it final: we are going home. I’m hoping that camping out for the next few days isn’t too tough with little to no furniture. We lose our dining room table and desk on Saturday. Ella’s crib sold to a sweet lady that is preparing to be a grandma. She drove 45 minutes to view it and leave a deposit, and insisted on letting Ella sleep in it as long as possible even though this means an extra car ride. Isn’t that nice?

We’re excited to go and visit the NICU staff tomorrow evening. It should be fun to see some familiar faces that we have not seen in awhile. I think it will bring into perspective just how far Ella has come, even from leaving the NICU in late January.

Josh only has 2 more days of work and of being in Gainesville. He is a little excited to be starting the process of going home.

So far, it appears that the weather is going to cooperate during both trips. We are supposed to get lots of rain on Friday in Gainesville (2-3 inches), so we’re hoping it clears up by the evening & early morning of Saturday when the car packing and driving begin.

I can’t believe this chapter is ending…its been so long. One thing is for sure, Gainesville will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Ella had a good day. It was fairly typical for her except that she went back to the NICU…this time, it was for a celebration.

We hung out on the conference room for about 2.5 hours. During that time, we were able to connect and visit with many of the nurses and respiratory therapists that cared for Ella. We even had a chance to see our two favorite NICU receptionists. Although they did not take care of Ella directly, they greeted us every day at the front desk of the NICU.

It was nice to see familiar faces. Honestly, it is strange to think that the most familiar faces for us in Gainesville are those from the NICU.

We bought a tasty cake to celebrate and thank the NICU staff. I’m so glad that we were able to stop by one last time for a visit. It confirmed what we already know: Ella is a miracle girl. We know it each day by looking at her priceless smile, but it was confirmed by many of the staff. Although it has only been a few months, they confirmed that Ella is looking good and on the right track.

Josh has one more day in Gainesville before heading out to Colorado early Saturday morning. Ella and I are going to miss him so much!

Please pray for safe travels with good weather during his trip with Doug and the cats. I will be updating the blog when I hear from him throughout the day. Also, we still have quite a bit of work to do to get ready to move. Pray that we get it all finished!

Wow, I can’t believe it is here.

Ella had her last occupational therapy and physical therapy appointments today. The next time will be new therapists in the Denver area.

The OT gave a great discharge summary and made note of Ella’s progress since he started seeing her in late February. It is a amazing to see how much progress she has made since the hospital.

The PT was cute and brought Ella a few books over the past couple of sessions. It was neat to see her “tune in” to Ella, especially over the last week. We liked her from the beginning because she is very perceptive and works well with infants. But she just got to the point where she was picking up on Ella’s cues. So likewise, Ella was starting to enjoy her too. The last session was good, complete with the Bun smiling and being playful with her.

As I type this, Josh is cooking a later dinner. He still has lots of work to do tonight to prepare for the trip early tomorrow morning.

Doug is coming up shortly to spend the night, so he is ready for the early drive. Along with him, Jeanie is in the car too. I’m not sure that if I mentioned that she was so sweet to offer to come up and spend the entire weekend with me. If you remember, she is the one that gave the Bun the Forget-Me-Not bracelet. And I know it was quite the sacrifice considering that she has a husband & 5 kids along with the fact that I have a nearly empty apartment with no furniture! So, the Bun and I will have a girls Memorial Day weekend with Jeanie!

I will plan on keeping everyone updated on the blog as far as Josh’s drive and his safety. Please pray that he and Doug will remain safe while driving and flying across the country.

We’re so excited…it is finally here. The Bun has no idea what she is in for…

So, instead of sleeping last night we opted for a party. I think we were just so excited to have friends visit; it was too much fun.
That meant that getting up and starting to drive at 5am quickly went out the door for Doug and Josh!

Instead, the boys left with the cats from Gainesville at 10am this morning. It is a 13 hour drive to St. Louis. Throughout the day, I will update with pictures from their journey. So far, so good.

UPDATE 2pm EST: The boys are stopping for a quick bite to eat at Sonic in Macon, GA. So far, the cats are relaxing and everyone is still smiling!

UPDATE 5pm EST: They’ve switched seats and are now in Tennessee.

UPDATE 7:40pm EST: They are in Nashville and opted for White Castle to fill their bellies. Yeah, they ate those burgers in one bite! As far as the felines, the cats have been resting pretty much the last several hours. It is reported that Pumps is sleeping on top of Macy.

UPDATE 8:40pm EST: Doug & Josh have crossed over into Kentucky. They have about 4 hours of driving until they reach their hotel in St. Louis, MO.

UPDATE 1am EST: The boys and cats arrived in St. Louis safely! They are heading off to bed.

And let’s not forget…Happy 10 months Ella!

The boys woke up and decided to start their trip around 8:20CST. They are headed on I-70 straight through Kansas City, the rest of Kansas and into Colorado. There is supposed to be rain and thunderstorms throughout Kansas today, so we’re praying for safety. The drive lasts for about 13 hours, similar to yesterday.

UPDATE 2pm EST: Josh and Doug are 20 miles east of Topeka, KS. Only 8 hours left till they reach our Colorado home! Ella is having a good day too!

UPDATE 6pm EST: Continue to pray for safety – – Josh and Doug are in Ellis, KS and there is a tornado warning until 6:30pm EST! We think that they are past it, but there is hail, thunderstorms and a tornado warning. They stopped off the highway and are listening to the local radio. Based on what we can tell, they are better off to keep driving and getting out of Kansas since the tornado activity seems to be behind them. After just talking to them at 6:15pm EST, they have decided to continue driving towards Colorado.

UPDATE 8pm EST: Josh and Doug are almost in Colorado – – 15 miles away. They started driving away from the storms (thank goodness for cell phones and Internet), once they confirmed the exact location of the storms. Many nearby were taking shelter and instead, they hit the road and started driving. That was a wise decision as the tornado ended up going directly through Ellis, KS. They are only 3 hours from our house in Colorado!!!

And back here in Gainesville, Ella is having a great day hanging out with me and Jeanie.

UPDATE 11:15pm EST: Josh is going a route that is 20 minutes longer because he wants to show his buddy the lights of downtown Denver. They just drove past Invesco Field at Mile High. This means that they are about 15 minutes away from our house. It is getting close!

UPDATE 11:38pm EST: Home sweet home for Josh & the cats!!! Now, the boys will sleep good and wake up to catch a 9:45am flight from Denver to Orlando, so they can come all the way back to Gainesville by tomorrow night.

Thank you Lord for keeping Josh, Doug and the cats safe on the trip out to Colorado. We praise you and thank you for this new chapter of our journey. May you continue to watch over us and guide us as we finish our pilgrimage back to our home. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Let the day begin…Our friend Kerri came to pick up Josh and Doug this morning to transport them for a much-needed cup of java and to take them to the airport.

Josh and Doug should be landing in Orlando around 3:30pm EST. We are praying for a safe and uneventful flight.

Here in Gainesville, we are trying to entertain the Bun and pack the rest of our stuff!

UPDATE 2:30pm EST: Well, the sweet lady came to pick up the crib…and she brought Ella a small gift. She gave her these cute John Deere socks, so we won’t forget Florida!

It was really nice of her. She also opted to purchase Ella’s swing. This was great for us because there will be limited room in the mini-van driving back to Colorado.

Ella has been watching videos today and hanging out with Jeanie while Mom continues to pack. One of her favorites is “Baby Signing Time” – – she gets really excited! Here are some photos that capture the moment:

UPDATE 4:30pm EST: Josh and Doug landed safely and have started driving back towards Gainesville, a 2 hour drive. Before they left Orlando, Doug had to stop and kiss his wife and girls. Josh didn’t mind the hugs either!

UPDATE 7:15pm EST: The boys made it to our apartment in Gainesville and we have celebrated by eating a pizza for dinner! Now, we are off to do more packing…

EXHAUSTED!!! Yeah…to say the least.

It was a mad scramble to get packed and load the mini-van before 12:30pm, and that was with Doug and Jeanie helping! They were nice enough to stay over at our apartment last night and help us today.

Hind site is 20-20 and having a wife that plans well can even be better, as long as you listen to her =). A couple weeks ago, Tina thought we should ship some items home before we packed the mini-van because she didn’t think we had enough room. Oh…but I was confident that my mad packing skillz would prove her wrong. Yeah…not so much. When you have trouble finding room to put a pair of shoes in a mini-van, you might as well give up on the 5+ remaining boxes…DOH!

So we gave away a bunch of stuff to our friends, and my Brother-in-Christ (Mr. Matt) offered to ship the remaining boxes for us (Thanks again bro!). Well, it did work out in the end, just probably not exactly how the wife wanted, which isn’t a good way to score points with her. Hoping that giving her a foot rub tonight will make up for it a little!

Ella behaved herself all day. One surprise: her g-tube fell out unexpectedly while we were in the midst of packing! That was a first. Fortunately, we were able to locate what we needed to fix it. Going through this drill made us realize that we did not have a spare g-tube, so we stopped by Shands on the way out of Gainesville, just to make sure that we had an extra.

Ella did well during the drive, although it did look like she was battling some gas so she definitely had her fussy moments.

By the time we finished everything, we were not on the highway leaving Gainesville until 5pm. Originally, we had planned on meeting the Richards and Dirriams for dinner in Atlanta. When we called to break the news that we would not make it, we discovered that both houses had kids that were sick and they were planning to cancel too (they did not want to risk possibly getting Ella sick – – thank you). It was a bummer not to be able to see them, but it seems like it was not in the cards for us to this trip.

We arrived in downtown Atlanta at 10pm, exactly a 5 hour drive. I think Ella scored us an upgraded room too because once the bell hop saw how much stuff we were hauling, he upgraded our room for us to a corner suite with a nice view. Way to go Bun!

At this moment, Ella is sleeping soundly and Tina and I are about to do the same.

Please continue to pray for our safe travels. It looks like we may get a little rain tomorrow, but we don’t expect to see anything like Doug and I saw a couple days ago (Thank God).

COLORADO HERE WE COME!

P.S. Our friends haven’t shared any of the pictures that they took of us today leaving our Gainesville apartment, but once they do, we’ll share with you too.

Thank you Lord for bringing us safely into Atlanta. Father we ask for your continue protection during this trip and for the weather to cooperate. We praise you Jesus for our beautiful girl. Amen.

The drive was not bad today. We left Atlanta around 12 noon and stopped twice. We used those opportunities to fuel the car, ourselves and Ella as well as have potty breaks.

Honestly, Ella has been doing a great job. Sure, she fusses now and then because she’s a baby! But overall, she has been doing fantastic! And thanks again to Grandma West – – that DVD player is amazing! Ella sure loves to watch her signing videos and Baby Einstein. Now and again, we did catch her sleeping too.

We did pick the right itinerary for our journey home. Just as we arrived at our hotel today, Ella started to fuss. She had been in the car for about 6 hours total and she was done.

The meltdown started, but as soon as I started pushing the stroller, she paused. The lobby lights and sounds made her stop and check out the surroundings. Even the elevator ride to our room on the top floor made for something more interesting than the car. As soon as I got her out of the car seat and laid her on a blanket in the room, she was SO happy!

I think that was a simple and subtle way of letting us know that she had reached her travel limit for the day.

We are at the Sheraton at Music City in Nashville. Once again, we ended up with a great room. The highlight of Nashville trip was having Keith, Tracy and Christie Mitchell visit us (we met them in the NICU the first week that Ella was born last July). They drove an hour from Dickson, TN to come and see us. And of course, everything was good because they brought BBQ for dinner in our hotel room. We had a great time hanging out.

Sitting on the patio of the hotel room was surreal. Wait a minute…we are in Nashville, TN with Ella Renae?!?! We just love her so much and can’t believe that it has been 10 months and we are finally on our way back home.

Tomorrow, we are headed to St. Louis, MO, a 5 hour drive. Please continue to pray for safe travels and good weather.

Thanks for all the love and support.

After 5 hours of driving, we made it to St. Louis. In the process, we went through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. The weather was perfect – – sunny and dry.

Once again, the Bun was good on the drive and started to lose it right when we arrived. Thank goodness that she perks up immediately upon getting out of that car seat!

Our hotel in St. Louis is the Hyatt Regency at Union Station. It used to be a train station in the late 1800’s. The architecture is very cool, so we had to do a bit of exploring this afternoon. Ella liked the scenery, especially the outdoor garden area. I couldn’t help but tell her secrets.

Tomorrow is a 4 hour drive to Kansas City, Missouri. We hope to arrive earlier so we can relax before the LONG drive across Kansas and Colorado on Saturday.

Thank you Lord for keeping us safe on our drive. We pray for protection on the remainder of our trip home. We praise you and thank you for our miracle baby girl. Each day we look at her is a reminder of your love in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.