Where did the time go? Sitting around my parents living room this year looking at every one, I realized that I have missed so much. Time has come and gone, and I can't get it back. I remeber when my brothers and sisters were little. (Not so much anymore!) They are 'all grown up' and have girlfriends and boyfriends and lives of their own now. What happened to the days of chasing each other outside, throwing snowballs, Brian and I picking on Cat, and doing cattle chores together. It is funny how most of our funny memories come from doing chores all together. If nothing else these past couple of months, I have realized how fast time goes and how precious that time is. I pray that God will help me to slow down and appreciate those loved ones around me.

What an amazing Christmas!!! God has TRULY blessed us with our wonderful families and an awesome, beautiful little girl. Every day I get to wake up next to a kind, caring husband and a little girl that always has the biggest smile for us when we pick her up. Tears came to my eyes this morning as I watched Matt pick Addi up out of her crib and to hear her laughter fill the whole upstairs from her excitement of seeing her daddy. What did I ever do to deserve this, Lord!?!?! As many times as I have failed Him, he never seems to give up on me. He continues to smile on our family and gives us a nudge to continue through life.
As I type, this precious Addi lays here with the corners of her eyes turning up as she smiles in her sleep. I pray that God gives Matt and I the wisdom, strength, and courage to bring up Addi in His word. Praise you God for having faith when we are faithless.

So I know that it has been a long time since my last post. It has been busy as I am sure that it has been for everyone else. A lot has happen since the last then.

Addi has been doing well in her physical therapy meetings with Dayna. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. We did have to miss Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house in Clifton because Addi had a touch of the flu. Between Matt being sick and Addi being sick, as a mother and a wife, I am not sure which is worse. he, he, he

Last Thursday we had an exciting venture, Matt and I headed to KC to Children's Mercy for a follow up urology apptoinment. On the way, the transfer case on the expedition decided to go out. Addi also started having one of her episodes of her 'flu' like symptoms. (Three within a month, we were starting to figure out the doctors were leading us in the wrong direction telling us it was the flu.) So, with lots of phone calls-we continued to KC in Matt's grandma's car. THANK YOU DONNA! Not for the urology appt., by the way we missed, but doctors there had concern that Addi's shunt was having intermitin failure. After a traffic jam and being stopped in traffic, we finally made it to the ER at Children's Mercy. After a two hour wait, we were finally in to see a doctor. Praise God, after a CT Scan and a shunt series (x-ray of the shunt tubing), doctors told us that the shunt was still functioning great. Both of her ventricles have actually come down in size from when the shunt was first put in. Isn't God good?!?!?!
As far as the irriatabilty, crying, throwing up-they told us she had caught the flu virus again. So....home we came after a 30 minute detour on the outskirts of Kansas City. Between trying to help Matt follow road signs and look for deer in the dark and try to console a crying baby in a car seat, I wasn't for sure wether to laugh or cry. We made it home safely at 1:30 am.
Next morning at 9:30 am we were able to get into our peditrician here in Hutch. Who is great!! She had radiology run some x-rays on Addi's esophagus, stomach, and so on to make sure that there wasn't any blockages. We now know that Addi has really bad acid reflux. Poor baby!
She is now doing better. Matt has been our great go to guy!! We are finally able to put her down without her crying. Although I do have to admit, I am enjoying the cuddle time with Addi. Nothing feels better than her soft little face pressed up against mine. We did manage a few smiles and were able to grab and kick our ducks in the tubby tonight.
So after four night of no sleep, we are hoping that tonight brings a very restfull slumber.

Matt has been busy pushing snow early the morning and today. We received 4 inches of a dry, fluffy snow. It was really pretty watching from the windows. As I was informed by Matt...it was COLD!

We are looking forward to finally getting to see my extended family in Clifton on Sunday to celebrate Christmas. Christmas Eve with Matt's family and Christmas Day with my immediate family.

Matthew, my youngest brother also graduated from Lineman School last Saturday in Manhattan, which we missed due to Addi and Matt's sickness. Sorry Matthew! We are VERY PROUD of you!!!

Oh, Addi also had her first couple bites of cereal tonight. Which she actually seemed to enjoy.

Just a follow up on the families that I have been listing on the blog...

Karson Schierling is doing well. He is finished with his third round of chemo and his latest MRI came back clean. Karson will also be a big brother in July.

Our other friends here in KS, that were pregant with a little boy who had multiple health problems, delivered Michael Tuesday of last week. Michael lived 1 1/2 hrs. then went to see his heavenly father. They say that Michael looked just like his dad.


Thank you for your continued prayers!! We love you!

We had another meeting with our physcial therapist, Dayna, today. Addi is now weighing 13 whole pounds. Makes me smile as some of our friends babies who are around the same age are quite a bit bigger. We love our Addi just the way she is!!!!
Addi decided not to roll over for Dayna today, but did awesome holding up her head and turning on her charm by talking up a storm and smiling.
Addi is attempting to 'stand'. When she does she is putting all of her weight on her heels instead of on her whole foot. Ever since Addi was born, she has liked to keep her toes/foot pulled up to her shin. With all of our strectching, she does have a wide range of motion-she just has to decide to use it. Kind of like rolling over. She can do it-she just has to decide to do it. I wonder where she gets her stubborness? So, Dayna gave us a couple of excersies to help Addi realize that she can put weight on her whole foot, just not her heal.
She also found her feet today with Dayna. She wasn't quite for sure what those things were to start with, now she is rolling all over the place on her back trying to grab them. She makes the funniest grunting noises, as her little puggy tummy is in way.
After physical therapy, Addi went with me for her first time at the election polls where we ran into Grandpa Harold. She decided it was more fun to play with Grandpa Harold than to worry about the election.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND TO PRAY FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY.

I received this through email and thought I would share.
Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word
And I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
And everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
Both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
Or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
And attentiveness from one person
And gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw 'G': I thought of God, followed by 'u' and 'i'.
'God, 'u' and 'i' dance.' God, you, and I dance.

It has been a really busy weekend with any even busier week already starting. Matt with help from friends has been busy trying to get all of the wheat drilled before we get more scheduled rain on Wednesday. Also trying to get sorghum and a couple of soybean patches cut. They have all been working so late at night and getting up early in the morning. We have really been blessed with some great weather here the past couple of days though!
Addi has had a cold the past couple of days so she has been sleeping quite a bit. In her wake hours she did manage to get a couple of laughs out. It took me surprise!!! It was pretty cute. I was running to tell Matt all about it over the radio's we have in the tractors.
I have been trying to teach Addi baby sign language, which Matt usually gets a good giggle out of. But, I think I am finally getting through! She gave me the sign for mommy on Saturday. I had showed her the sign saying 'mommy' at the same time. She did it back!! At first I thought okay, I am just a proud mom seeing things until she did it twice more throughout the night. She is catching on!
Today she finally decided to start rolling over on her own, front to back.


I would ask for your prayers for a few other families.

Karson Schierling (18 months) has been undergoing chemo for a couple of weeks now. They found a brain tumor on the right side of the brain which has been removed and the doctors do think that they got it all. Karson is doing well and still has chemo treatments left.

A family in AZ. Jody (mom)and Jacy (daughter,3) helped me tremendously throughout our time of need. Jacy also has spina bifida and Jody went through the fetal surgery in CA, three years ago. (She answered every ridiculous question that I could ever think of!! THANKS JODY) Children with spina bifida can get what is called 'tethered cord' where the spinal cord attaches to the scar tissue that was left from where they closed the opening in the back. They should be finding out results from a MRI today.

Another family in AZ. A little girl named Addison whom is 7 months old. She suffers from a rare heart condition called Shone's Syndrome. A syndrome that includeds four different problems with the development of the heart, so it requires a series of surgeries. She is still in the hospital and has her up and down days.
http://aztamsfam.blogspot.com/

Our other friends here in KS, that are pregnant with a child that has no lungs and only one kidney. The doctors tell her that their little boy won't make it after he is born.

Addi in her tutu and K-State outfit.

We had a visit today from our physical therapist that comes out every other week. She is very pleased with the progress of Addi!! She said that Addi is above schedule on the strength of neck, holding her head up on her own without it 'bobbling' around. Addi isn't quite fond of rolling over yet. She is just pretty comfortable lying on her tummy. The physical therapist not to worry about it just yet. Addi's strength is there, she just needs to make up her mind too roll over. She said that Addi is very laid back, that we might need to 'light a fire' under her. :)
Praise God, Addi is right where she should be developmentally!!
ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!

This weekend was full of activity and fun at the Brack household. Friday night Grammy Julie and Aunt Catherine came to visit. We all got up early Sat. morning and took Julie to the airport so that she could visit her family in Las Vegas for her grandma's 90th birthday. Catherine got to stay the whole weekend and play with Addi. They had a great time together. It is a good thing that Addi is little enough not to pick up on any of Aunt Cat's awrnyness. :) The weather was great, little windy, so we got to play outside a little bit and pretend to help Matt. Probably we were more in the way than we were help, but I am positive that Matt loved every minute of us. This weekend Matt decided to take a break from farming on Sunday so that we could all enjoy some time together at a local pumpkin patch with some friends. Although Addi is still a little young, we decided to go ahead and start our family traditions. We had so much fun together. Despite the wind, the pumpkin patch had so much to offer for everyone of any age! Matt and Jason had fun shooting the corn cob cannon. Jen and I decided we would try our talent on the two person bicycle, as well as Matt and Jason. Emmie, their daughter, tried a little bit of everything! We finished up the afternoon with snacks and picking out the perfect fall pumpkins and gourds. We plan to visit again next year!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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It has been awhile since our last update. But, I guess no news is good news, right? Addi has an appointment with Dr. Greene her neurosurgeon in KC at Children's Mercy last week. Matt was unable to attend as he was on a trip with Mid Kansas Coop. They went to Nebraska for Husker Harvest Days. It is like a State Fair for farmers. Anyway, my mom joyfully went along with Addi and I, and Addi got to see papa Bruce for awhile too. The whole appointment actually only took 10 minutes at the most. Dr. Greene said that she is doing well and would like to see her back in February, despite his six week recommendations that he gave us last appointment. YEAH!! So, up we went and back we came. (With a quick trip to surprise grandma Kim at school.)

It is hard to believe that Addi was 12 weeks yesterday. People always told me that time flys when you have children. I never really believed them until now. Addi is weighing 10 lbs. 5 oz., learning to roll over from her back to her stomach, and giving the biggest smiles she can muster. Smiles for mom come far and few between, but I really enjoy them when I get them. Smiles for daddy however, are always very readable. She definitely enjoys her daddy!!!! I think we have a Daddy's girl on our hands. :)

Matt has been busy preparing for fall harvest. The Lord has blessed us with bountiful rain for the crops, (with good fall crops, I can stay home for a year) now we just need some sunshine. Matt has also agreed to cut fall crops for a gentleman in Lyons. Addi has been getting in her combine rides with daddy. She loves being outside!

How Can I Ask For More - Cindy Morgan

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************
There's nothing like the warmth of a summer afternoon
Waking to the sunlight, and being cradled by the moon
Catching fireflies at night
Building castles in the sand
Kissing Mama's face goodnight
Holding Daddy's hand
Thank you Lord, how could I ask for more

Running barefoot through the grass
A little hide and go seek
Being so in love, that you can hardly eat
Dancing in the dark, when there's no one else around
Being bundled 'neath the covers, watching snow
Fall to the ground
Thank you Lord, how could I ask for more

So many things I thought would bring me happiness
Some dreams that are realities today
Such an irony the things that mean the most to me
Are the memories that I've made along the way

So if there's anything I've learned
From this journey I am on
Simple truths will keep you going
Simple love will keep you strong
Cause there are questions without answers
Flames that never die
Heartaches we go through are often blessings in disguise
So thank you Lord, oh thank you Lord
How could I ask for more
**********
I am brought to tears!! THANK YOU LORD - how could I ask for more.

Every time I look at our little girl, I can't thank everyone enough for their prayers! She is just so precious to us. She trying to hold her head up on her own and putting pressure on her feet and legs to attempt to support her up if you hold her. What a miracle! What did I do to deserve such a blessing?!?!?!?

Matt and I have some friends that are 18 months along in their pregnancy, and found out two days ago that their baby boy has no kidneys or bladder. My heart and prayers truly go out to them!!! I praise God that he gave us the experience that he did to be able to be there for them as they go through this difficult time. I pray that their family is as supportive and comforting as mine is and was. What we do without friends,family, and strangers that are willing to pray and comfort you-that you have never met?
The saying 'God brings friends/people into and out of lives for a reason', has never rang more true than these past few months.

With God's love-

Just wanted to give everyone an update on our appt. in Kansas City yesterday. We had a very good day. Our appt. was at 8:30 at Children's Mercy, in KC. It was amazing how many lives are touch by spina bifida. The waiting room was quite full of children with all different levels of spina bifida. Doctors were right about the fact that spina bifida affects each child differently.
The nurses were absolutely wonderful!!! Before we were called back, just seeing them interact with the children (some that had been going for up to 14 years) was awesome!! They remember the children's names, family members names, just warm and kind!
What happens at a 'special care clinic', is that all of the doctors that your child needs to see, come and visit you on this day. It saves you from having to call each doctor and try to make appts. This particular clinic has 11 rooms for patients. The nurses call you back and you actually stay in the room the whole time. The different doctors come to you to do your check ups. It is actually quite nice. Each room has lots of toys and books for the children to play with while they are waiting. One of the nurses brought us a snack and a pop while we were waiting. Once you get your room, it is a fairly quick process. Each child sees a different amount of doctors just depending on their needs. For Addi, we saw a neurologist, physical therapist, nutritionist, neonatologist(who was great and rather funny), pediatric urologist(who actually trained at Vanderbilt in Nashville and knows all about the moms study), and rehab (who we didn't really need).
The neurologist just check out Addi's shunt and said that it was working fine. We will have to have a check up with Dr. Greene in six weeks to do follow up. He said that babies that have shunts, for the first year they like to check the shunt every six weeks to make sure that it is working properly. After the first year, every six months. Her head and everything is in proportion where it should be.
Physical therapist said that Addi has great flexability and is doing well. With the low lesion spina bifida, it affects the nerves lower on the back. For example the muscles that control flexing the ankle down and pulling it up, also the muscles that control your hips. Being able to pull your knees to your chest and straighten your legs. The muscles that pull your ankles to your shin run along your shin at a diagonal and the muscles that help pull your foot down are in your calf muscle. Anyway, Addi is doing a great job of keeping her toes pulled up to her shin but is having a hard time flexing her foot down. They possibly think that those nerves could have been affected. This would affect running and jumping because we push off with our toes. But, I say we keep praying and doing our physical therapy and we will see what the Lord has planned for us. Still pretty early to give us the outcome yet. :) Addi has surprised us once before, I bet she can do it again! They did say that she will be able to walk! A nurse also told us that having your toes pulled up toward your shin is a better prognosis than having them pulled down.
The nutritionist was very happy with Addi's weight gain. Babies her age should gain an ounce a day and Addi is gaining an ounce and a half.
Urologist was happy that Addi is voiding on her own and is on no medication to help her with that task. We will have to go back in 4 months to have a renal scan done on her kidneys to make sure that her bladder is emptying all the way out and not backing up in her kidneys. The scan at Vanderbilt showed us that everything was working fine. Doctors tell us that everything can change for better or worse over time. Once again, relying on the Lord and having faith that he has taken care of it!!!!!! Addi is doing great now and will continue to do so.
The neonatologist was great! Talked a lot about function. 'The fact is not how children with spina bifida do it, it is that they do it.' I really enjoyed visiting with her. She was happy with Addi's progress and impressed that Addi did so well in Nashville.

Addi now weighs 7lbs. 9oz and is 19 inches long. We will continue with the path we are on...prayer, feeding, diaper changing, and physical therapy until next time. :)

Oh I forgot to add that Addi is trying to hold her up already!! Her little fingers are also finding their purpose in life to grab on to anything she can find. My hair, jewelry, having the death grip on your finger, or anyone's shirt usually works as well too!

When we got home last night, Matt and I worked in the yard. Matt mowed and I planted a couple of flowers and weeded the flower beds. Addi went with us outside and loved it!!!!!!!! We have gone outside quite a few times before, but she usually just went to sleep. Last night, she was looking around and cooing to me as we planted away. The fresh cool breeze felt good. (we are hoping for some rain today) I think we have an outside girl on our hands!

Addi has a doctors appt. in Kansas City, Wednesday at Children's Mercy Hospital for follow-up and evaluation. She is being quite the little eater! (notice the double chin)

Boy, does time fly!?!?! It is hard to believe that Addi is almost six weeks old. We are definatly enjoying being parents. Two in the morning is a little sketchy, but still enjoyable. Every time I look at Addi I think how amazing she is and what can happen when we storm the gates of heaven with prayer. Many of you have been very busy and are still busy praying for us. THANK YOU!! How blessed I am to get to be the mom of this wonderful little girl!
Through all of our trials, we have learned of other children and families that are going through trials of their own. It has really opened my eyes to be more compasionate for others in situations that I may not understand at the time. God is always watching over us even when it seems he has forgotten us.

Mom and those bows!! :)

Loving play time with daddy.

We had Addi's second doctor's appt. on Friday and Addi is doing awesome! She now weighs 6lbs. 1oz. She is gaining weigh quickly now eating 80 cc each feeding.
She is getting a little more alert every day and we have had fun playing a little bit.
Addi loves to be sung to sleep and loves taking a bath. Getting her hair washed is her favorite part. :)
I will try to get some pictures posted tomorrow for everyone to see.
Thank you again for your prayers and support.

The house remodeling is also finally finished. YEAH!!!!! I will also try to take some pictures and get those posted. I am loving every minute. The house looks great and I don't think I could have done better myself. :) I can't thank everyone enough that put the house back together for us!

Hello everyone-
We have had a very busy and wonderful past couple of weeks. I would have updated a little bit sooner, but Matt just got the internet hooked back up late last night for me.

We did get home late last Monday afternoon. After a very eventful trip home, we finally made it. Addi did very well on the airplane ride home, sleeping the whole way. I will have to post details of our very humorous trip home a little bit later when I get a few more minutes. Pretty funny!!!!

I am enjoying every minute of newly remodeled home and getting to spend time just looking at Addi. Something I would have been able to do without the help of our friends and neighbors!!!

Addi is doing wonderful as ever. She is gaining weight and is now above her birth weight. In fact, she has quite the little double chin going on right now. :)
She is letting us get a little bit of rest at night but letting us know that she is now part of the family. Addi loves getting a bath and loves having Matt wash her hair.

Matt has been busy farming, trying to play catch-up. I will get some pictures posted soon!!!
Thanks again for everyone's prayers and support!

We love you!!

Matt, Valerie, Addi

Hello everyone!!! Sorry for the delayed update. Addi is doing fantastic, continuing to impress all of the doctors and nurses with her progress. She is continuing to eat very well, now consuming 60cc of milk every three hours. She always wakes up about 15 minutes before it is time to eat to let us know that she is expecting to be fed. :) She seems to be awake for a little bit longer every day. She has Matt's beautiful blue eyes! She has also found her left thumb when her pacifier is not readily available. Addi is a pretty calm baby unless she is ready to eat or needs to burp.
We have been truly, truly blessed!!!
I do think that Matt is getting a little restless being away from Hutchinson, America but is doing well. Hard to believe that Addi has gotten Matt to change a diaper and read something besides a farm magazine. (Matt has been reading literature that the hospital has given us as well as the car seat directions, pretty cute!! He wants to make sure that Addi is properly cared for.)
The doctors are talking that they may let us go home on Monday. YEAH!!! Addi is continuing to gain weight and maintain her temperature.
That is about all for now. We are really enjoying our addition to our family and continue to Praise God for his miracle. A huge thanks to everyone for their prayers and continued support!
Love to all-Matt, Valerie, Addi

We just wanted to send a quick update while we had a few minutes. Addi is still doing wonderful. The doctors have increased her food amount that she has been getting. She continues to drink the whole bottle every time and seems to be getting quite custom to a routine. She starts getting quite fussy if she thinks it is time to eat and no one is jumping to her needs. :) The doctors are trying to get her to eat 30cc at every feeding. They have her eating every three hours. Addi started out at 6cc and was moved to 15 cc yesterday and up to 20cc today and then tonight and tomorrow she will be moved to 26cc then 30cc if she continues to do well. Earlier she did very well with the 20cc, so we are confident that tonight she will do fine with 26cc.
As soon as Addi can control/maintain her temperature on her own, (hopefully tomorrow) they will move her to a crib and out of the warming bed.
Her head measurements continue to drop, a sign that the shunt is working and performing nicely.
She loves looking at her daddy and holding his finger. As soon as Matt starts talking to her she will open her eyes and start looking for him and she seems to clam down. Matt is getting quite used to taking her temp. and changing her diapers already and I am enjoying the time feeding her.
Well, that is about it for now. We are headed back to the hospital for feeding time. We will keep everyone updated on her progress. Sorry if I haven't been answering emails very quickly.
Thank you again for everyone's prayers. I can't but think how blessed we are every time I look at her precious face.

Lots of love,
Matt, Valerie & Addi

I don't know if I ever posted, but Addi weighed 5lbs 4oz and was 16 3/4 inches long.

(Top & Bottom) Right after Addi is born

(Below) After Addi's shunt was placed.

At eight o'clock this evening their will be many people joining together spiritually to lift Addi up in prayer. Please join us.

This weekend was a very busy in Hutchinson. We had lots of friends pitching in to help Matt finish wheat harvest. It was quite the site from what I am told. Up to eight combines at one time, grain carts and lots semi's at every field. Wheat harvest for 2008 is officially over thanks to all of our friends and neighbors lending their time, equipment, helping Matt stay organized and even to those who helped make food to feed everyone. WHAT A BLESSING!!!! Now, Matt will be able to see the birth of his first child. THANK YOU to everyone who helped!

Sorry for the late delay on the update but today has been a busy day!! In a whirlwind of a sonogram we found out today that Addi will be born on Wednesday June 25th at 11:00a.m. She will have surgery sometime on Thursday. A little bit sooner that we had originally planned and right in the middle of our wheat harvest. :) Boy, does God have a way of making you have faith!!!!!! A huge thank you and hug to all of the farmers who have offered their help and equipment, helping Matt get our wheat crop out of the field so Matt can be with Addi and I. We certainly have been blessed!
She is still moving all of her limbs and taking her 'practice breaths' and the water on the brain has increased slightly again. Since Addi will be born premature, I was given part of a two series shot of betamethasone, I will receive another shot tomorrow late morning (24 hours apart). It is a steroid that will help insure that Addi's lungs are mature and ready to go. At this point in time, we are not for sure how long Addi will have to stay in the hospital or when we will get to come home. We are praying that everything will go well.
So, today mom and I were busy trying to make sure that we had everything ready to go and were trying to get all the details possible for what is going to happen/should happen. Doctors sometime seem to assume you been through all of this before. I think they are ready to get rid of me and all of my questions. :) Not that we don't have a few days, but it gave us something to do and we like to be organized.
A big thank you to everyone for all of their continued support and prayers!!! Please continue to pray for us. I would also like to thank First Church of the Nazarene in Manhattan, KS for their generous donations in starting a fund for Addi's needs. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this fund! It is very much appreciated.
We have been embraced by family, friends, and the Christian community with thoughtful gifts, words of encouragement, and kind gestures. You have definatly helped us get through each day.

Just wanted to give everyone an update. We had an exciting sonogram today. Some of the water on Addi's left ventricle went down!!!! TRULY A BLESSING!!! Praise God and a big thank you for everyone's prayers!! Again today, Addi scored an 8 out of 8 on the physical exam. Bending both of her knees to 90 degrees, flexing ankles, toes, and hips. Today they could see that she has about an inch of hair! How funny! It was pretty cute to see!!! Addi's little lips were puckered up and she was sticking her fingers in mouth and playing with her lips. The sonographer and nurse decided that she has 'Angelina Jolie' lips. :) After a while, she started playing with her legs. Not quite sure what the fascination was, but something was intriguing her. With Cat being here she has gotten to share in all of the sonograms, she has decided that Addi has Matt's full cheeks.
According to the doctors, if she doesn't come before, they plan on delivering Addi around the first/second week of July. Hard to believe that it is only a few more weeks away.

Catherine is headed back to Hutchinson on Saturday to go to work at ADM and mom is heading back down to TN. Thank you again to everyone for all of your prayers and support!!!!

The house remodeling project is coming along. We have had some pretty great friends pitching in and helping out A LOT!!! The tile has been put down in the kitchen and utility room. Looks awesome from the pictures that I received. The upstairs walls have been painted and the girls are working on getting the trim painted. Hopefully carpet can be put down here in a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see all of the progress!! Poor Matt has his hands full with everything going on. :) Hopefully he can hold onto his sanity for a few more weeks.
Love to all!! I will keep you updated on any more progress.

Hi everyone!! We had our weekly sonogram today. Addi is still scoring and 8 out of 8 physical wise. The water on the brain is also continuing to hold stable. PRAISE GOD!! Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and support.
Otherwise, not much else going on here. Very humid and hot here in TN, but it sounds like Kansas has had its fair share of hot weather!
Matt has been busy with the house and farming. He is headed out to OK at the end of the week to do some custom cutting. Wheat harvest is Matt's favorite part of farming!!!

Yesterday we had another weekly sonogram. The water on the brain has finally stabilized at this time! Praise God!! Thank you for continued prayers.
Addi didn't want to cooperate very much for the sonogram. She moved plenty before and after the sonogram, but didn't want to move around during. She is stubborn already. :)
Otherwise, everything is going well. I will keep you update on more later. Thank you for all the prayers!!

Hi everyone! Just thought I would write a quick short note. My mom headed home and my sister Catherine is here now with strict orders from mom on how to be a proper warden. Catherine will leave mid to late June to head back to Hutch, KS to start her summer job working at a grain elevator and mom will come back out for the remainder of the time.

Today we went to the park right across the street has a pond with a bunch of geese and ducks all over. So, of course Cat had to go buy a loaf of bread to feed the waterfowl. They were pretty cute, some of the animals had their babies out swimming in the water.

Our house is coming together quickly with lots of help from our awesome friends and neighbors!! Our upstairs is getting painted as I am typing. Matt is excited about our countertops getting finished and today the plumber was installing our range top stove and sinks. YEAH! I am sure that Matt is going to be happy about having the kitchen back in the proper area as opposed to having it temporarily in our dinning room.

All in all, everything is going well. Matt has had ample rain at home for all of the crops. All of the hail and tornados have missed us at home so far, praise God! Tomorrow we have another sonogram for Addi and a meeting with the neurologist that performed the surgery on Addi. The sonogram will be a growth sonogram, measuring the circumference of the stomach and head and the measurement of the femur bone. I will let everyone know how everything goes tomorrow. Thank you again to everyone who has sent packages, cards and prayers our way!! Also a BIG thank you for everyone helping us get the house ready for Addi and I to come home.

We had our weekly sonogram today. Addi is doing well. Still scoring an 8 out of 8, moving her toes, feet, knees, and hips today. Heart rate is still good and she is surrounded by a large amount of aminotic fluid. We were told today that sometimes after the fetal surgery aminotic fluid will decrease. She was all stretched out today and we got to see a really clear picture of her little chin, lips and nose. The hydrochep. is still present, so please continue to pray.

Thank you again for checking our blog and for those of you that have sent cards and packages. I really appreciate it and it sure makes the day go by faster to have mail to read. Mom was pretty excited to get some cross stitching items. THANK YOU!!
I think that is all for now. I will post again soon!

Happy Birthday to my awesome husband, yesterday. I was having problems with the internet here at the hotel.
My mom and I went browsing through Target yesterday to start a baby registry. We know that Addi will have a latex allergy, so we were trying to find items that are latex free or made with silicone. WOW! I guess rubber has latex in it. So we have to watch for outfits where the elastic is exposed to the babies skin, as long it is covered by material we are okay. But, I think that we found some pretty neat things for Addi. There will be just some things that we have to look out for. But, if that is the worst thing we have to worry about, I would say that we are doing okay.
Thank you again for all of the awesome packages that have come our way. I love getting all the adorable outfits for Addi!! It is so much fun. She is going to be all set! I can't wait till she gets here.
Thank you again for all of your continued prayers and support. We love you!!

Today we had another sonogram of Addi. She was busy moving around as usual, letting us know that she is there. PLEASE, PLEASE continue to keep Addi's hydrocephalus in prayer. Thank you once again for everyone's prayers and emails. I loved getting Mother's Day cards from many of you, I feel very blessed and I truly appreciate it.

Okay..so I know I haven't written in a couple of days, sorry. There hasn't been too much going on. Yesterday I broke the rules a little bit (shhh..don't tell), mom and I went for a short walk to grab a bite of lunch so I could sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I couldn't take it anymore. :) We are supposed to get some more rain the rest of the week.

We have a sonogram tomorrow, so we will see what Addi is up to. Please keep praying for her. Once again, I am finding this patience thing kinda hard. It must be the Wurtz in me. For those of you who know the Wurtz's, you can smile a little bit. I know that God is leading us in the direction that he has planned for us and will take care of us.

From what I hear from home, Matt is doing well. Although I miss him greatly, he is working very hard to get everything taken care of. He is getting ready to plant soybeans as soon as it dries up and is sounds as if we might have a late wheat harvest this year. Good thing he has some great help through our friends and neighbors. Our concrete countertops were poured the other day. I got some pictures of the raw product and they look pretty awesome so far! I can't wait to see the finished product, all polished and sealed.

Well, check back tomorrow for updates on the sonogram. I will keep you posted. Again, thank you everyone for your prayers, notes of encouragement through email and the mail. I truly appreciate it! Love to all!

Today I had some fun company from Kansas visit. My cousins Jessica, Jon, D.J, and my aunt Laurel and uncle Dana stopped by. They helped make the day go by quickly! Mom and Laurel decided to 'tour' Nashville in search of some cross stitch bibs and came up empty handed. Everyone told my mom that cross stitching was a thing of the past. Pretty funny!
GREAT....now she is going to bug me even more because she has nothing to keep her busy. (just kidding) She really has been a big help and a great companion.
We also finally figured out what county we were located in so we could watch for all of the storm and tornado warnings/watches. Being a farmers wife and growing up on a farm I was trained at an early age to keep on eye on what the weather is doing on a daily basis. It is wierd being out your element not really knowing where you are. Well, we know now!

Not much going on today. Lots of rain and no sunshine. Just catching up on email and enjoying reading everyone's notes and words of encouragement.

Our life

While I am spending time in Nashville, Matt has been very busy at home. In the midst of our family having our first child, the time has come in farming to plant corn and soybeans. Along with farming, we also decided to remodel our home that has been in Matt family for years. Matt says what started out as a bathtub for the little one, turned into the whole house. What would I do without Matt? He is truly a blessing to me!!

With all of the rain lately that Hutchinson has received, it has pushed back planting soybeans a little bit. Thankfully, all of the corn is planted and all the fields that needed tending to have been taken care of. Matt and Craig worked late nights trying to get finished before we left for Nashville.

As far as the house....the utiltiy room has been built. YEAH!!! (no more dirt and mud across the whole house. Containment is good) Our whole home was built with plaster and lath. All of the plaster had to be taken out. Talk about a mess. Good thing we had lots of help.

The kitchen and utility room have sheetrock, paint, and cabinets. Thanks to our contractor, Roy, we now have doors hung and trim up. One of Matt's friend in Wichita, Brock is pouring our concrete countertops today. Yep, you read it right...concrete. Matt wanted concrete from day one as I was a little leary to start with, but after seeing a few pictures I think they will look great. I can't wait to see pictures of our countertops! The chocolate countertops should look great with our light colored painted cabinets.

Not only did we tackle the downstairs, but also the upstairs. We have yet to get sheetrock, I am told next week, and also the nursery. One day at a time, right?!?!

Thank goodness I have Matt to take care of everything!! Praise God for all of our blessings.

Just wanted to give you a quick update. We had a sonogram today and everything looks wonderful! Addi is doing fantastic. We saw movement in both feet, knees and hips today! Praise God!!! The hydrochep. is maintaining, it at least hasn't grown anymore. We are still keeping the water on the brain in prayer. I know that God has plan, but it awful hard to be patient. :) Please continue to keep in your prayers the water on the brain. We could also see the incision on Addi's back, and it look great as well. Still held together, very smooth and small.

Every week they will score Addi physically on a scale of 1-8. The scale is based of a variety of things such as the movement of feet, ankles, knees, hips, arm movement, heart rate, lungs, etc. ADDI HAS SCORED AN 8 OUT OF 8!!!! TWICE!!! Today and Saturday when they let us out of the hospital. The power of prayer is amazing! The nurse and doctor said today that they haven't seen anyone, mom or baby ever do so well so quickly!!

I haven't had to use any pain medication for a couple of days now so I think that is a great sign.Although I miss Matt, my mom is doing a great job. Mom did get one wheel of the wheelchair stuck in the grass. I guess she was trying to go off-roading. Hope everyone's day is going well. Thank you for your prayers and support. We would not be where we are without you and your love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Matt, Valerie, & Addi

Matt and I found out in December that we were being blessed with a child. During a sonogram in April we were told that our little girl has spina bifida. What a shock!!
On April 27th, we traveled to Nashville, TN to have some additional testing done at Vanderbilt Medical Center, Children's Hospital and were selected for a clinical trial. In this clinical trial, there were two options, fetal surgery or post surgery. The Lord lead us in the direction of the fetal surgery that occured on May 1st. With Matt by our side, Addi and I headed into surgery.

The doctors performed a C-section and repaired the leasion on Addi's back. The doctors reported that Addi and I were a very strong couple of ladies. The surgery went well with no complications. Matt stayed by my side the whole time, sleeping on a cot in my room and made sure the doctors took good care of me. After a couple nights of that, he thought that he might have needed the epidural as well.

The best part was that we were doing so well that they let us leave on Saturday afternoon. While we were in the hospital, we had sonograms of Addi everyday to make sure that she was doing well. The first sonogram, we were able to see Addi playing with her toes and her tongue and give us a quick wave. Like she knew she was being watched. Matt said that Addi was starting physcial therapy already in the womb. On the second sonogram, Addi was still fascinated with her toes and we saw both of her feet flex at the ankles. PRAISE GOD!! I believe that was his sign of showing us everything is going to be fine.

Matt and I moved back into the hotel, where I will be staying until Addi is born. My mom came in on Sunday to stay with me, while Matt continued back to Hutchinson to continue farming. Though I miss him dearly, mom is being quite the 'warden', making sure that I maintain bedrest required by the doctors.

Addi continues to let me know that she is still there, by using my stomach as her 'punching' bag.

We praise God daily for all of the loving individuals that have supported us from the begining. THANK YOU!!!! We would not have made it this far without your loving prayers.