Happy Easter!

He Has Risen!
Happy Easter to All! We had a great day today. We started off the celebration at my mom and dad's church, Edwards Road Baptist. It was a wonderful sermon and Maggie loved being held by her parents and grandparents during the service instead of going to the dreaded nursery. Then, we went to my uncle and aunt's house and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and visited with my family. We, of course, had our annual Fortner/Oliver (and Gaymon) Easter egg hunt. Bradley, my brother, and Sissy, my cousin's wife, couldn't make it. We definitely missed them contributing to the fun and festivities. It was a wonderful celebration of Easter...of our savior rising from the grave! Praise Him for saving us! Hope you had a great Easter as well.

By the way, thanks for all of the great advice for Maggie's cold. She is definitely feeling much better...not 100 percent, but much, much better.

Maggie is Sick

Maggie has a cold or allergies or is having a horrible case of teething. I am not sure which one, but I have a feeling it isn't teething. Right before her bottom teeth showed up, she had a runny nose and some congestion, but she is pitiful right now. She woke up a couple of times during the night. All I could do was rock her until she finally fell back asleep again. We called the doctor yesterday to ask if there was anything we could give her. He said that we could give her a half of a teaspoon of Children's Benadryl every six hours. So, I gave her some this morning. It seemed to help slightly. She is a little drowsy from it, but at least she has a little bit of relief. Does anybody out in blog world have any remedies other than medicine? I am already giving her two baths a day, because she seems to enjoy that. Any suggestions are welcome.

Beautiful Baby...6 Month Pictures!

Six Month Appointment...Ouch, More Shots!

Today, Maggie had her six month appointment. It was a lot better for me than the last one, and I think that the shots weren't as hard on Mags either. She is such a trooper.....she gets that from her mom (yeah right). Maggie smiled, sat up, stood up, felt on Dr. Wylie's face, and didn't even fuss when he stuck the tongue depresser in her mouth. She gagged but didn't fuss! I know that I was just glowing with pride for my tough little cookie.

When, the doctor went over all of her measurements, he started out by saying he thought Maggie was perfect. No, I didn't pay him to say that! But, I thought it was only fitting. =) Then, he went on to say that she is in the 90th percentage for both height and weight! Who would have thought? She is 26 3/4 inches tall and weighs 18lbs 9.6 oz. Her head had grown three inches since her last appointment. The doctor jokingly said she had gotten that much smarter. I knew it! Well, I guess that is enough bragging for one blog entry. After the appointment, I went and got Maggie a couple of toys and outfits. We both deserved a reward for being so brave!

Cohen Update...

The doctors have put Cohen back on oxygen because his oxygen levels have gotten low the past couple of days. Please keep praying that God continues to heal this little boy, and that he is able to breath easily and effortlessly. Also, pray for Emily and Chris, his parents, that they will have renewed strength each day so that they can care for their newborn in the NICU and their two year old son, Cort, who is at home.

Here are some things that Emily shared about Cohen:
* He loves having his head rubbed
* He hates to poop -he furrows his brow and fusses everytime he has to go! - this is a bit stressful for mom and dad as he also holds his breath and sends his monitors all over the place.
* He likes being sung to and enjoys being "shh'd".
* He likes to be held up close to your shoulder
* He loves his paci
* He doesn't like to have his arms messed with much but is getting less sensitive about that and is moving them around more and more

Squash!

Update on Cohen: He breathed on his own all day without any oxygen! Praise God for today!

Here is a little bit more of the ordinary life in the Gaymon household. Maggie thinks EVERYTHING is a toy meant for her enjoyment. That, and her two bottom teeth are cutting through her gums so she wants to chew on everything. Here are some pictures of her trying to play with the jar of squash I gave her for her afternoon snack. She splattered squash everywhere!

Yet another toy! Whooohooo!
Are you mad at me, mommy?
No Way!
I get to play in my birthday suit while mommy washes our squash clothes!

My Personal Time With God

I have been in the midst of praying for our friends, the McGowans. It is simply amazing how God can use one tiny little baby boy to impact hundreds or even thousands of lives. My mind has been going a hundred miles an hour, but it mostly has repeated over and over," Thank you Lord, thank you Lord," and, "Heal Cohen, heal Cohen, heal Cohen." I have gotten outside of myself for the last few days. I have put life in perspective, just a little bit. It has been an amazing time with God. I know that a lot of you have had the same experience while petitioning the Lord for Cohen's life or someone else close to you. So my prayer is that I (we) will continue to have this constant conversation with God. Day to day, I (we) will get outside of myself and remember that there are people who need prayer. Not just people in my family or circle of friends, but the billions of people who are suffering or do not know this God Almighty that I (we) serve. I know that this prayer is not realistic considering my sinful and selfish nature. But, I also know that the same God who has worked a miracle in Cohen's life can work a miracle in mine or yours as well. It is very realistic and possible through Him! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord! Thank you! Please share some stories of what God has done in your life this past week. We all need to celebrate together!

We Know it is God!!!!

God has literally breathed life into this sweet boy!

From the McGowan's blog:
Chris and Emily just met with the geneticist, genetic counselor and her OB. They just came out to the waiting room and shared the following with us all, "We need a nursery!" Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!
All of the x-rays and tests still show the same "fatal" rib condition, but the doctors are amazed that he is surviving on his own. The geneticist told them to make an appointment with him in MAY! The doctors asked for permission to send a picture of Cohen to the author of the text book on skeletal dysplasias who lives in Germany - the doctors are baffled. We know it is God! We still need to pray for his strength to breathe and remember that he's still in the NICU. They are going to run an echo on his heart before they transfer him. We don't know yet many details about schedule or what will come next, but for now we are thrilled and crying tears of joy.
Emily is doing much better since the change of meds. She has been able to get out of bed and is sitting much more comfortably in the wheel chair. She and Chris are now in the NICU with Cohen.

Cohen is Born! We Serve an Awesome God!

One of the McGowan's prayer requests has been to hold their son while he is alive. God has answered that prayer! Here is the latest post:

Cohen was born at 9:23. Emily got to hold him. He was breathing on his own. He has been taken back to do chest x-rays and Chris stayed with Emily. That's what we know. They got to hold him! Praise God!

Pray for Cohen!

If you read this blog entry tonight, please pray for Cohen McGowan. I just copied a portion of a post from their blog. It was submitted by a friend due to the McGowans being at the hospital for a c-section. Little Cohen is not expected to make it, and we are joining with the McGowans to pray for a miracle. Here is a portion of the post:
"Please join me in praying for the McGowans and for Cohen's little body--that God would choose to heal him and give him long life--it is NOT too difficult for God. Please pray for Chris and Emily right now that they will have clear minds and peaceful hearts to make quick decisions and to wait on God and His perfect plan for Cohen's life."