So for whatever reason today, Ella decided to be a super duper pooper producer. Holy moly what a good time..heh. After the 4th diaper change I gave her a bath, cleaned her bed, and let her hang out in her almost birthday suit. I think she enjoyed it as shown in the video.

It’s been a good few days alone with the Bun, but we’re anxious for mom to come back. Ella and I head to the airport tomorrow morning to pick her up. It’ll be nice to have momma home.

Big day for Ella’s grandma…she turned the big 6-0…err I mean she’s 45..yeah…45. 😉 Happy Birthday to my mom, Lynn, the Bun’s grandma.

Also…thanks to all who are lifting up the Keirseys in prayer. Avery is far from out of the woods, but it looks like she doing a bit better. Please continue to pray for this precious family.

I arrived in Denver this morning. Even though it was sunny and 83 degrees, it felt cool compared to the past few days. In Dallas, it got as high as 106 degrees while we were hustling around and enjoying girl time. I’m not sure about you, but that is HOT. Then today, in normal Denver style, there was an afternoon thunderstorm and it has been about 67 degrees since 3pm. I am not missing the Texas heat, but I am already missing my friend.

It was great to go away for a few days and have a change of scenery. At the same time, I greatly missed Daddy and the Bun. It looks like they survived and even more than that, had a great time together.

While I was in Dallas, I had the privilege of meeting another CDH family and their precious miracle. It was nice to meet in person after connecting virtually and it was great to see their 3 year old baby girl running around and playing up the drama. She’s as much a normal little girl as any other which is so good.

Ella had physical therapy this afternoon and enjoyed her session in the pack-n-play. Although she has been sitting up since the end of February, it is taking less and less effort for her. And this means that she can enjoy it more and do it more often without wearing out. She is not able to get into a sitting position on her own, but we are working on it.

As the sun sets for the day, we’re thankful for all the blessings in our life. We pray for guidance and direction on the next steps for our journey and we praise Him for our precious little Bun.

Psalm 69:30 (The Message)
Let me shout God’s name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

Ella gained weight…yippee. She has increased to 11.36 kilos or 25 pounds! We know she is getting longer, but it is also good to see her gaining more weight.

The increase in weight is not likely due to fluid. Actually, we started adding baby food to her g-tube feeds. We are starting slow so that we do not cause any GI issues. So far, we added 1 tablespoon last Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Starting this past Monday, we bumped it up to 2 tablespoons. Now keep in mind, this is 2 tablespoons for the whole day. We’re starting very slow…as we all know, Ella likes slow.

Not only do we want her to gain weight, but we want her guts to start processing food. The current formula that she takes is completely pre-digested. This is nice and easy on her tummy, but it is not good to have her belly not do any work for a long period of time. So, we decided that this would be a great way to work out her belly plus add some calories and nutrients. Hopefully, her body will be able to tolerate the gradual increases over the coming weeks.

The physical therapy and speech therapy appointments were both canceled today, so we only had occupational therapy. They had a good time together.

James 1:2-4 (The Message)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Ella had a good day and did well during her therapies. We’re all a bit wiped out though because it’s been a sad day for us. We had to put one of our cats down.

We knew something hadn’t been quite right for awhile. It wasn’t until the last few weeks when she had some dramatic weight loss and other symptoms that pointed to kidney failure that we knew it wouldn’t be long. We agreed that at the first sign of her starting to suffer, we would do the humane thing. Well that was today…and she’ll be missed. Every night for the last few years she would come up and “say goodnight” to me by giving me those rough tongue kisses on my nose. Pumps was such a sweet cat…even non-cat people liked her. Goodbye Pump-a-tudis.

It has been a bit strange without Pumps around. She was the first pet that Josh and I adopted about 10 months into our marriage. And in case you’re wondering, she was about to turn 13 years old. So she did live a long and happy life. She was more of a doggish-cat; very social and wanted to be nearby. Also, she was chatty and walked around the house talking a lot. This is why it seems so quiet without her around. Our other cat Macy is cute as ever and sleeps with me nearly every night. But for the most part, she has the typical independent disposition of a cat. On that note, Macy has been walking around “meowing” and so we think that she is looking for Pumps. Sigh…

Ella had both therapies today. She did better with OT versus PT. By the time physical therapy came around, she was just tired. Either way, she was sporting her new halter top from Children’s Place…so cute! Can you believe it is a size 3T ?!?

My friend Aimee came to visit me today and I forgot to have us take a picture – bummer! We had a nice time hanging out and catching up.

Still leaning on Him and asking for guidance and direction for the next steps. Praying that He will make His will clear to us.

James 1:5-7 (The Message)
If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

Enjoy the pictures of our baby girl who is turning into a little girl…

It was a nice day in the sun with Bun. We just decided to relax and enjoy the pleasant day together as a family.

Please continue to pray for us. We desire discernment on the next best steps to take.

Psalm 119:1-8 (The Message)
You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
don’t ever walk off and leave me.

We visited Grandpa today to help him with some computer stuff. All of us were having such a good time that we did not realize we were skipping out on something important. My cell phone rang and it was the babysitter at my front door. Ahh! We completely forgot…and felt horrible. You’d think a date night would be enough motivation and that we would not forget. But we did! Making a mental note to not make that mistake again…yikes.

Here are pictures of Ella enjoying the ride over to Grandpa’s…

Ella had a physical therapy appointment today. The Bun was bit cranky but the therapist still got her to do some exercise in her pack-n-play.

We are excited to have Grandma West visit us starting tomorrow. She will be staying for 6 days. She wanted to make sure and visit to celebrate Ella’s 2nd birthday which is only 4 days away! Since Josh is out of work these days, it should provide a nice time to visit as a family.

Each day has presented challenges regarding our situation and what He wants us to do. We’re trying to be patient and seek His will. Please pray for peace to rein in our lives.

Psalm 120:1 (NLT)
I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

We were so consumed with picking up Grandma West and hanging out that we hardly took any pictures. Enjoy the few we did take of the Bun!

Matthew 5:3-8 (The Message)
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.