The "Home Stretch"

Before you get too excited about the title of this point, I want to give you a running analogy.  For those of you who don't know, I got into running about 2 years ago and love it!  It is very addictive I think!  I need to get back out there, because I would love to run a half marathon sometime this fall.  Alright, digressing...

Anyways, different races have different kinds of home stretches.  Let's talk about 3 different kinds.

1. Some races you run and run and run, then all of a sudden the finish line is there.  You couldn't really see it coming, it just sort of pops up out of nowhere.  Then you're finished.
2. Other races you can see it for miles until you finally finish it.  Those aren't nice because you can tasted the finish, but it feels like it's being kept from you like candy on a string attached to your hat. No matter how far you go, it just never feels like it gets closer.
3. Then there's even meaner races (right now I am thinking of the San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon I did last summer).  In that race (while I was in a lot of pain because my knee hurt like crazy) you could see the finish around mile 22sh I believe, but then you had to run around this peninsula/island thing and you couldn't see it for a few miles.  So cruel!  It was sooo close, you could see it not that far away, then you had to run where you couldn't see it....

So, how does any of that have to do with Samuel going home (some day)?  Basically I say we are on the home stretch because we have now been given the orders to feed orally whenever he is awake (on Friday we could feed him orally twice a shift and that went very well).  Remember how one of the big things is that he has to be on 100% oral feedings with 2 days of weight gain?  Yeah, we are getting really close.

The problem is, even though we are getting really close we really don't know what close means...  Does that mean he will start eating orally and gaining weight well and we'll be home within a week?  Maybe!  Or is his energy not quite up to snuff and after eating more he will be sleepy more, thus keeping us here past Easter?  Maybe!  We just don't know at this point, it is too early to tell.

Oh and remember how I mentioned that his oxygen levels haven't been as spectacular as before?  Yeah, we got to get that more under control too.  How long will that take?  I have no idea.  Maybe within a week or maybe not until after Easter.  So, yes, we are in the home stretch and we could be going home very soon (note to self, get that car seat installed!), but we could also be here for several more weeks.

What I do know, is that we want him healthy and strong so that he can handle what life at home means.  That's a life without monitors to make sure he's breathing and has his heart rate where he needs it.  It's also a life where being too tired to eat is not an option, there will be no more tube feeding (which is not a favorite of his anyways).  We are simply thankful for the excellent progress he has made so far and we just pray that he will continue moving forward no matter how quickly.... or slowly!

Samuel means "God heard" and we surely know that God hears all our prayers, including the ones about Samuel!  We have definitely been blessed with an amazing staff at this NICU, which is one way that God has heard our prayers!

Lots of Updates since I last wrote in May. :-)

It seems I left on the thought of me training to run a 5k and a 10k and with me reading through the whole Bible in one summer. The 5k was on the 4th of July and I finished in just over 30 minutes, averaging a little of a 10 minute mile. I was ecstatic! Then I ran the 10k on September 11th and did not do as well as I wanting (my training was interrupted a bit...), but managed to at least pull off a pace just under 11 minutes a mile.

As for the Bible reading, I did not quite make it in 90 days, but more like 101 days (or something like that). I did finish pretty close to on time and I was pumped about that part! The Old Testament was the roughest, especially when it was explaining the dimensions of the Temple again.... :-) It was a great experience on the whole and I would really encourage my fellow brothers and sisters to attempt it as well! You do need to make sure that you will have time to do the read most days though...

This summer the craziest thing happened to me! I was mowing the lawn and it threw a rock at me! This was right in the middle of my 10k training... I couldn't put a shoe on for a whole week! I couldn't comfortably wear dress shoes for a month! Let me back up and explain:

YES, I was wearing shoes! And yes, I still have a mark from where the rock hit my foot and occasionally it still feels slightly tender... 4 months later! It happened at the end of July. I should have taken a picture of the wicked bruise... So after I could finally put on shoes again I started going back to Body Pump and I could do everything except the lunges and my lunges are still weaker to this day! For those of you not familiar with Body Pump, it's a weight lifting class. You lift weights to music and when I haven't done it in a while it has a good way of making my entire body very sore! It's so much fun and I have a great instructor (I generally go to the same class).

Student Teaching has started and is almost over. It has been an incredible experience. I mean that in both positive and negative ways. I worked with a Spanish teacher and a German teacher every day throughout the entire experience, which I don't think I would encourage a dual placement like that in the future. It can work really well, but the communication across the board has to be very strong or else it becomes really easy for things to become tense... Although I have enjoyed student teaching on the whole and have enjoyed my time in front of the classroom, I am not sure that I am going to pursue a teaching job. I have been working as a tutor for the last year and a half and have absolutely loved that, so I am contemplating working as a private tutor and not pursuing a teaching job. We'll see how that goes!

One thing I can say about student teaching is that I have NEVER had this many colds in one semester and I mean serious colds! I have one right now, and let me tell you, going to school and working all day with it has not been fun, but I haven't missed any days this time...

Ben and I were able to spend Thanksgiving with some family in Missouri this year. The highlight of the trip was seeing his brother Nick and his family. They have orders to Germany, so they will be MIA from the States for a while starting in about March. The good news is, that I should FINALLY be able to get Ben on a plane with me to Germany so he can FINALLY meet my friends there! I miss my German friends a lot and it really is a loss for Ben never to have met most of them! Germany, here we come! At least once we have the vacation time and money saved for such a trip...

Well, I should get ready for some good rest (and get over this cold). Hopefully I will not wait most of the year to post next time!