So Much To Say ...

I am making this quick because I just don't have much time...

We made it home with Kadin on February 28th at approximately 9:30PM. It was surreal for us ... everything seemed to move slowly and I wondered is this really happening? Living with a monitor and oxygen is proving to be a little difficult, but it isn't something that can't be mastered and overcome within about the next week or so. The most difficult part of it all is trying to get a working system down so that we are all comfortable with everything.

We set Kadin up a little area with a pack-n-play (Thanks so much Terri and Michael!) with his concentrator and his monitors nearby. There is a LOT of cable with everything so dealing with those hanging everywhere is not foreign to us, but it's just annoying! I want to be able to pick him up and walk where ever I want to in the house, but it just isn't going to happen right now. We have explained the monitors to the kids and the importance of the oxygen also. They are aware when the monitors alarm we look to see what is happening. The kids have been just AWESOME! They know when or if the canula comes out of Kadin's nose to put it back in ... they are also very good about GERM-X before having contact with him. I just can't explain how good they have been about Kadin being home ...

We promised Kota a long time ago that when Kadin came home, he would be the first to get to hold him. He remembered that this morning when he walked in the door from spending the night at his daddy's house. He came in and the first thing he said was "Kadin's home, huh mommy?" and of course, I giggled and said "Yes, baby, he's here!" ... And as we were walking to the bedroom where he was, Kota said "Be quiet so we don't wake him up!" It was so cute ... he was even afraid to flush the potty for fear of waking the baby. I explained to him that Kadin is used to a LOT of noise from the NICU and it is quite alright to do our daily things here and talk at a normal level so that we don't get him used to the quiet.

We went to Kadin's bedside and Kota looked at him for the first time ever in person ... he said "Aaawwww!" I asked him what he was feeling and his response was simply "Love!" ... Talk about welling my eyes up with tears. My sweet little 7 year old knows what it is all about. There is no jealousy ... except for Robbi and Kota fighting over who has held him how any times. They are both being extremely helpful. I had to let them know ... that Kadin is as big as he is (8 pounds 2.5 ounces) partly because of THEIR help. I reminded them of ALL those times they waited in the waiting room with the huge chalkboard on the wall, with coloring books, magazines, munchies and snacks, etc. that they were waiting while Kadin grew and got better. It finally fell into place for them - I am so proud of my kids and how they handled themselves and our situation over the past 4 months. We look back at it now and reminisce about the things we did and how we miss certain things. Kota loved the donut holes every morning at the RMH. Robbi loved getting the quarter bottles of water out of the machine every day. They loved playing games with Darren and watching movies. They loved having Wal Mart close and going to McDonalds! So I reminded them ... while we were "living" like that, Kadin was growing so we could all be at the point we are right now. They had HUGE smiles on their faces as we all 4 cuddled on the bed together this morning.

I said I was gonna make this brief but uh huh ... whatever ...

We had several visitors today. My parents came by ... My dad had never seen Kadin either. He was there before he was born but had returned that day to go back to work and was never able to make it back to FW again. Danny's sister Sandy came over for awhile and visited, too. Our dear family friend C'Ann came over and brought a darling little outfit with a monkey in a firefighter helmet! It is ADORABLE! My sister and my nephew came by also and brought some much needed items that I really hadn't thought of ... wipes, shampoo, etc ... plus she bought me an Espresso machine for my upcoming birthday and the goodies to go with it. Danny and I experimented tonight to re-create STARBUCKS and did so successfully .. SO THANKS SIS AND CAM !!!!!!! Awesome ... just awesome!

This week is full for me ... I have appointments and phone calls to make, and court on Thursday (ugh, not looking forward to that at all!) and still some adjusting with Kadin here. It is going to be just fine, though. I am loving having him here and like my precious daughter said this morning, we are "starting all over again" with having a newborn in the house. I never imagined I would be having another baby, but here it is and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

Thank you all for being patient on my blogs after arriving home. I know some of you have asked why haven't I written, lol ... cuz you know, I write about EVERYTHING, so this is about all have time for right now. I wanted to publicly thank all the members of the First Baptist Church of Big Lake for the meal that they provided for our family this past Wednesday evening before we went back to FW to get Kadin! It was delicious and very much appreciated. I sent the URL to this blog to the church in a Thank You letter, so if any of you are reading this, know that your love and generosity is very much appreciated in this time for us and will be for always.

God Bless You All!

Leslie and Family