girls, girls, girls

a little fall fun at Grammy and Papa J's on Thanksgiving Day...

 

Madeline is growing up so fast it is scary!!  She has been a little jealous lately.."my want you Daddy/Mama" and wants to drink her sippy cup like a baby.  When we sit down to eat supper, she says the blessing and it is the sweetest thing you have ever seen!!  She puts her little hands up to her face, closes her eyes and says, "God is great, thank you for this food, aaaaaamen."  Then she wants to sit with one of us while we eat which is a chore to hold her and eat without spilling anything.  So, Kris has been compromising and putting her chair right by his...he says one day we are going to want her to sit with us and she is going to be too busy for us and we will be the dumbest parents in the world.  He certainly has a valid point!  She LOVES music and will tell us quick to "frank" it up if she likes the song or "my not like that song, turn it" she will also say "dance mama" and so we proceed to dance like crazy even in the car so if you see me riding down the road dancing around and singing in my microphone..don't worry, it's just me and Madeline having a good time!!  She loves to pretend and has a vivid imagination!!  When Shimmy got her up on Sunday morning, she wanted me but Kimberly told her I was not feeling well and Madeline said "but my the doctor!!"  Who knows where she comes up with some of this stuff!!  She is doing much better with potty training, but if we could just get #2 in potty we would be great!!  She even has "pretty panties" and if you don't believe her, she will show you..she is VERY PROUD!!  (and so are we!!!!!)


We are really looking forward to Christmas this year!!  She told Grammy that some of her decorative Christmas trees looked like party hats :)  When we asked her what she wanted Santa to bring her, her response has been "donuts" and "phones!" Well, I think Santa can manage the donuts but she is not quite old enough for a phone yet..maybe a toy one.  Can't wait to take them to have their picture made with Santa at the Bass Pro Shop..our last year's picture is priceless with her arms outstretched and this look of terror on her face!  The minute she was back in my arms she stopped screaming and was saying "ho ho" so I don't think we scarred her too bad!  She loves opening presents and says "who gave me this?" "oooo this is pretty!" there is no telling what she will be saying on Christmas morning!!

"Miss" Jessi cut her hair and she looks like a big girl *tear*

Chandler is 11 weeks old today!!  My how time flies..it seems I have been saying that alot lately too!  She got those mean ole 2 month shots last week and boy did she frown up!!  It was quite comical and kept this sensitive Mama from breaking down because she would turn it off just as soon as the nurse was done with each one!!  She is beginning to really smile and coo which is music to our ears...and she is almost rolling over if she could just get that booty rolled on over :) She has not been spitting up nearly as much and is not coughing as much either so we are glad about that!  Thankfully Chandler hasn't been sick since Madeline, Kris and I have all had the crud but are much better so hopefully it's gone from our house and won't come back!!  Our little piglet is also tolerating more formula and is now eating more than two ounces per feeding..she is growing!  We go for a weight check today so we will know just how much!

smiley baby

Pops is doing well and taking it easy..we will probably take the girls to see him soon since they are the best kind of medicine for any ailment!!  As for their other grandfather, Papa J, he kept Chandler yesterday while Grammy decorated and he did a fabulous job and even followed the rules and the note!  haha  We are so fortunate to have grandparents who want to be a part of our children's lives and who are willing to help us out..we couldn't make it without them, that's for sure!!

 

 gimme some turkey!!

this little tomboy has stolen her Daddy's heart

 our two turkeys

we have so much to be thankful for...

 

until next time,

Megan

big heart, little heart

Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday because it is a time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for before the hustle and bustle of Christmas is here.  Thanksgiving this year was pretty hard..we were minus two of our little family at Kris's big family dinner.  The doctors had advised us not to get Chandler around alot of people, small children and strange germs, so we did what was best for her and left her with Shimmy.  The was one of the hardest things I have ever done..just didn't feel right.  The other person we were missing was Kris's dad, Mr. Randy or as Madeline calls him "Pops."  He had a heart attack and had to have triple bypass surgery on Monday, November 19.  The surgery was supposed to last 4-5 hours, but ended up only lasting for two.  We just hope that is how Chandler's surgery goes also.  He did well and was able to come home on Friday.  He said he was paving the road for our sweet Chandler and will one day be able to compare their scars.  I hate that he had to have surgery, but we see that as a silver lining of this bad situation.  I keep saying "this too shall pass" well I am just about tired of saying it..haha  Please pray for a speedy recovery for my dear father-in-law and for my sweet mother-in-law as she will be taking care of him.

This picture was taken right after Chandler was born..He is the only grandparent that was in these pictures..coincidence?!  Pops and Chandler will have a forever bond..

Also on Thanksgiving day, Kris and I celebrated our four year anniversary.  He had to work at the fire house so hopefully we will go out to eat soon.  We decided to move up in the world and get iphones and really like them alot.  Of course Madeline really likes them and doesn't like it when we won't let her play with them.  Ever since our first anniversary, I have tried to do the "traditional" gifts.  It has been pretty fun especially when buying for someone who has everything or what he does want is outrageously expensive (i.e. hunting trips, bass boat, rhino just to name a few!!).  Well, this year was fruit/flowers...what?!?  No man wants flowers so I decided to do chocolate covered strawberries..not exactly a gift but were pretty darn yummy!! 

The first three years were much easier:
1st--paper--He got Jason Aldean tickets and we went to see him in Southaven, MS.
2nd--cotton--He got a polo shirt.  I know, I know..he has lots but that was as creative as I could get!
3rd--leather--He got a belt.
Next year is wood, so maybe I will think of something good before then, at least I have a year. :)

until next time,
Megan

madeline randall smith

Ok, I promised birth stories, so this entry is dedicated to big sister, Madeline Randall. 

Kris and I were married November 22, 2008--I was 28 and he was 30, so we decided that we didn't want to wait too long to start a family.  After a trip to see Wicked the Musical in Memphis, we found out we were pregnant after being married for 6 months!!!  Kris and I had gone to give my friend's parents a bid on their yard.  Courtney and I have been friends since kindergarten, and it's no secret that we like to talk alot :)  Well, she let some popcorn burn in the microwave and just the smell of it made me nauseous but I didn't really think anything about it.  We got home and I decided to take a nap..I had been so tired lately.  When I woke up from my nap I still didn't feel quite right.  So, I took two pregnancy tests--one messed up so I drank tons of water and took another one and it was positive but I didn't believe it! (Kris was training for smoke diver school while I was doing all this.)  I drove to town to get another box of tests and both were negative, so I surely wasn't pregnant or so I thought.  When Kris got home, I couldn't wait to tell him--we were beyond excited but nervous so we called my doctor at home.  He said the test doesn't lie, congratulations y'all are due March 30th!  Wow..we are going to be parents!!  The doctor told me to come in the next day for blood work--VBS started this particular week, also.  They did the blood work but I had to come back in three days so I had to look at my mother-in-law at Bible school and not say a word, which is very hard for me to do--keep my mouth closed!!  So the results said "positive" and we went to tell our parents.  We go on an annual canoe trip in Hattiesburg with some good friends and we used our fur baby, Marley, as an excuse to go see the grandparents-to-be.  Marley needed a place to stay so we told both of them that they were keeping her and we were coming to drop her off.  We told my parents, Mamaw and Kris's parents.  Then we stopped by Kimberly's work on the way to Hattiesburg telling her she would be an aunt in March.  So here was the hard part...we weren't telling anybody else because we hadn't heard the heartbeat and weren't far enough yet.  Now, we were going away for the weekend with good friends to have a good time and relax and all we wanted to do was say "we're having a baby!"  We were able to pull if off. 

We finally heard the heartbeat at eight weeks and told everyone who would listen--we were so excited!!  The pregnancy seemed to drag on...1st trimester I was nauseous and tired.  At the 20 week sonogram we didn't find out the sex but it was such a wonderful sight seeing our baby move and kick and hear the heartbeat..that is the most precious sound in the world :)  We went through the holidays and I ate like I would never eat again--I used my pregnancy as an excuse! haha  Toward the end of the pregnancy, I started feeling bad and my blood pressure started going up and I was swelling.  I started being miserable and getting ready for the baby to come already!  Everyone who was due around the same time as us was having their babies early and with no problems.  I would feel something in the middle of the night and hope it was a contraction--which it wasn't!  On the morning of March 25th, 2010, I had a doctor's appointment.  He said there were several reasons why the baby wasn't coming down and I wasn't dialating.  He said more than likely the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and even if he induced, I would probably labor and labor and still have to have a c-section.  So we decided to go with the c-section, because I was more than ready for the baby to come.  He told us to go home and get our bags and be at the hospital at 3:30 and would have the section at 5:00.  This was it...we were going to be parents..we were feeling all kinds of emotions at this time! 

And so at 5:15 p.m., we became parents for the first time and there are no words to describe what that feeling was like and hearing our baby girl cry for the first time!!  She was perfect and beautiful and not one thing wrong with her except they had to get her body temperature up and I didn't get to hold her for about 2 1/2 hours!!!  We had lots of company to see our bundle of joy so we stayed up late visiting and cuddling and staring and kissing our perfect girl.  In the meantime, my blood pressure continued to go up even though I was on magnesium and in the bed with those blow up things on my legs--I literally felt like I was shackled to the bed and I basically was for five whole days!!!  I couldn't walk or even change Madeline's diapers..it was a very hard time for me and was supposed to be one of the happiest.  They did everything they could to get my BP to go down, I even had no visitors which was very very hard for us but I also wanted to go home as a family of three.  And we finally did on March 30th, Madeline's original due date!  I went home with blood pressure meds to be taken twice a day and still wasn't feeling myself.  At my one week check up, the doctor sent me BACK to the hospital because he thought there was protein in my urine--OH MY GOSH...talk about a meltdown at the clinic!  Once at the hospital, everything checked out and he also prescribed lasix.  (Isn't it ironic that my sweet Chandler is on both of those meds now?!)  Eventually, it went back down and I was able to come off the BP meds and lasix for good! 

Then...came the nasty little words called "baby blues" and an even nastier word called "colic."  The two of these equaled one crazy mama...no kidding just ask Kris, my parents, Kimberly...anybody!!  But these topics will have to wait until a later date... 

After all we went through to get Madeline here, she really was the best baby (after colic) and sleeper.  It is sometimes hard for me to remember her when she was so little..she certainly taught her daddy and me alot about patience, how to raise a baby, and how to (try) to be selfless.  She makes me proud to be her mama and I love her to the moon and back...we forgot what our lives were like before she was born and really don't want to remember..

until next time,
Megan

Madeline Randall Smith

7lbs. 8 oz., 19 1/2 in.

She looks an awfully lot like someone else, doesn't she?! :)

kids say the darndest things

Just a little funny about Madeline...  She has been sick and Kris was checking her temperature with a temporal thermometer.  He ran it over her forehead and said, "that can't be right, 78, how 'bout we take it again."  Madeline said, "Daddy let me see it...how 'bout we take the lid off."  hahaha 
She is too smart for her own good sometimes!! I can see that her young brain is going to keep Kris and I in line! :)

On another day, they were coming home from daycare and she was on her phone.  Kris asked her who she was talking to and she said the doctor.  He said why are you talking to the doctor and she said because my baby doll is sick...she has a bobo on her heart.  Brought tears to this mama's eyes..she is so sensitive and caring especially about her baby sister!

She is finally feeling better and I am glad to be getting our spunky girl back.  Hopefully this sickness is leaving our house and we can get back to "normalcy" and Chandler won't get it.  I have never been a germ-a-phobe but I am slowly turning into one..my new perfume is Lysol!!  Looking forward to some time home next week enjoying my little family.

until next time,
Megan

happy happy monday

sweet sisters

 tummy time :)

 getting them to both look at the camera and smile is next to impossible!!

 

 

until next time,

Megan

a tale of two rockstars

***WARNING WARNING***  This blog contains a lot of bragging about two Smith girls!!!

First of all, our big girl has FINALLY started figuring out this potty training business!!  She will actually tell us "my gotta go to the bafroom" and has even done #2 in the potty!  Whew, I never thought she would catch on and never thought I would talk about pee and poop so much either!  haha  We are super proud of our big girl and have acted a fool dancing in the bathroom...if anyone saw us they would certainly think we were crazy!  Who cares if she is full of M & M's as long as her business is in the potty, we have even had them for breakfast!!  And that's a BIG deal at our house since I have been compared to a drill sargent when it comes to sweets and soft drinks!  Let's hope she keeps up the good work or else I might run for the hills, screaming!

As for daughter number 2, she had a GREAT check up on Friday!!!!  She weighs 9 pounds, 11 ounces and Dr. Parnell described her as her "poster child" and a "rock star."  She wants us to keep doing what we are doing..that her echo and EKG looked good and that her liver was good and no wet lungs.  Praise the Lord..it felt so good to get good news!!!  She also compared her to another baby her age who is going into failure..how horrible for those parents, I couldn't imagine hearing that news.  But also puts it into perspective for us that things could be so much worse.  Chandler is doing so well that we don't have to go back to Jackson until December 7th, unless something comes up.  Her anticipated surgery will be when she is four months old, which is not far off.  We are ready for it to be over already.  She also stressed the importance of keeping her well during the next few months.  Ugh..oh how we love the holiday season and want everyone to see our sweet girl, but can't risk it, so our holidays will be spent at home with just a few people.  We hope that everyone will understand and respect our wishes...believe me, it's killing me because all I want to do is show her off, but Chandler's needs come first.  As soon as she is up for tons of visitors, we should have a party!!

As Thanksgiving is approaching, which is my favorite holiday, Kris and I are approaching our 4th anniversary on the 22nd (Thanksgiving day)...wow we have been busy these past four years!!  We were pregnant with Madeline when we were only married for 6 months, sold and bought a house, and had Chandler 2 1/2 years after Madeline.  But through the ups and downs, it has certainly been worth every second and I can't wait to see what the next years will bring us.  If it wasn't for Kris, I wouldn't be where I am today..he is an amazing husband and dad and I wouldn't trade him for anything (on most days, anyway haha)!!!

Please continue praying for our big, little girl, God is answering prayers and she is proof of that!!  I forgot my camera, so expect some pictures tomorrow. :)

until next time,
Megan

formula and potty training woes

So, to sum up the first blog, yes Chandler does have Down syndrome and an AV canal that needs to be repaired.  Once the shock of Down syndrome wore off, we have been more concerned with the heart surgery.  I have found that living day-by-day is best for me, because it will consume me when I stop and think about all the possibilities!  We haven't started any Early Interventions yet..as one doctor told us to just love her and feed her, so that is just what we are doing!!  When she was 1 week old, we took her to Jackson for the first of many doctor appointments.  We were referred by Dr. Shores to see Dr. Parnell at UMC.  And get this, our pediatrician, Dr. Charles, and her worked together a long time ago--it's a small world!  So, she trusts him and instead of us going to Jackson weekly, we have been seeing Dr. Charles on the opposite weeks.  Poor thing has been to the doctor every week of her life!  She has had an echo cardiogram every trip to Jackson (3) and two EKGs.  Chandler takes .4 mL of lasix twice a day and .4 mL of enalapril (blood pressure medicine) once a day.  She doesn't mind the enalapril so much, but boy does she hate the lasix.  As Madeline says, "Mama, her not like that medicine!" 

Dr. Parnell and Dr. Charles have also suggested that we find someone to keep Chandler at home instead of daycare.  Now, Madeline goes to Lisa Paulk (Lisa's Little Angels on 24 Hwy) and LOVES LOVES LOVES it there!!  In fact, you know how most kids cry when you drop them off?!?  Not our big girl, she cries when we pick her up!!!  It warms my heart to know that she loves it so much and makes it a little easier to go to work knowing that she is WELL taken care of there.  So, when we had baby #2, of course she was going to Lisa's (or Ms. Misa's as Madeline calls her!).  This has got to be the worst time of year to have an infant..how in the world are we supposed to keep her well during cold and flu season?!?  We had to find someone that would take care of Chandler the way that I would take care of her and that we could trust to come in our home...slim pickings around here that's for sure!!  God is good all the time is all I have to say about this, and I have to give Kris credit for thinking of this person while he was on the lawnmower!  He does his best thinking on that thing, which isn't always a good thing..."Megan, I have come up with another way to make us some money!"  Yes, honey, I bet you have!  haha  And for those of you who know him, he is ALWAYS coming up with new ways to make money, and it ALWAYS comes with a looooong story :)  Anyway, back to our sitter issue, Brittney Ray is keeping Chandler, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Grammy (my mom) and Nana (Kris's mom) will pick up the slack on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  We are very thankful that this all worked out..these three women are life savers and will be partly to blame about Chandler being so rotten!!  haha

At the first appointment, Dr. Parnell increased the calories to 22 calories per ounce because feeding tires her out.  Feeding to her is like running a mile to us, and I know if I tried to do that I would probably pass out!!  So, she increased her calories so she wouldn't have to work so hard.  We were able to use regular formula just by changing the amount of scoops per water.  Since then, Dr. Parnell increased her calories to 24 calories.  Once you start increasing more of the regular formula it does something to the electrolytes plus they don't sell 24 calorie formula over the counter...great!!  So, in order to get it we would need to either A.) get a prescription or B.) apply for WIC.  Again, Madeline had a healthy heart so this is all new to us!!  I didn't even know where to start, so on one of our many visits, Dr. Charles suggested going through WIC to get the formula all I had to do was go to the health department.  That's all?!?  That seemed easy enough but boy was I wrong!!  They approved us on a trial-type basis until I could get some paperwork to them, so we were able to get a months supply.  How nice!  That was until I took the paperwork to the health department yesterday and was....DENIED!!!  We make too much money and haven't been approved for medicaid yet.  Which I had called to check on and it is still in process.  The medicaid paperwork has been sent off so that Chandler can be declared "disabled" now that hurt hearing that.  I have come to terms with Chandler's diagnosis but hearing that about my 8 week old baby was more than I could handle.  But I put my big girl panties on and moved forward.  I just hate having to use her "disability" to get her the help she needs with her healthcare and formula.  That is all we need assistance for is her healthcare and formula!!  No one said that this was going to be easy, and we will go to the ends of the earth if we have to for both of our girls.  Anyway, we are not giving up and are still going to fight for our precious girl because if we don't, who will?!?

Enough about Chandler for now.  Let's talk about big sissy and the adventures in potty training!  OH MY GOODNESS....no one warned me about this milestone and add a hard headed 2 1/2 year old!!  This mama is in need of a vacation for sure!!!  We had started before Chandler was born and she just wasn't ready, so we decided to wait until after some of the newness wore off.  We had no plans this past weekend so we (as in me, Madeline and Chandler, also with Kris and Shimmy some of the time) stayed home Saturday and Sunday and potty trained.  We had talked about it and we had her a sticker chart and m&m's..we were ready or so we thought, I was ready, she wasn't quite ready.  After cleaning tee tee off the dining room floor, the chair, the rug, and changing bath water, she FINALLY tee teed in the potty and oh what fools we were!!!!  She went all night Saturday and Sunday night without wetting the pull up which is a start.  She is all about being a "big girl" but just doesn't want to take the time to sit on the potty to do her business.  She likes to sit and look at the stickers, play with her baby doll or just talk and THEN potty on the floor!!  She will also say "I gotta go to the bafroom" when it is the most inconvenient time, of course!  And Chandler picks the time Madeline is on the potty to cry, which she hardly ever does!  If we can ever get through this stage in her life, I will feel like I have really accomplished something...whew!!  I commend all mothers who have been through this and despise the ones whose child was a breeze to potty train (only just alittle).  haha  I know that this too shall pass, but my patience is surely wearing thin.

Please continue to pray for us and our sweet, precious gifts from God.  We go back to Jackson on Friday, so pray for weight gain and the best news we can get!

until next time,
Megan

brings tears to my eyes at the love Madeline has for Chandler..

 cheese

 bright eyes

 the infamous sticker chart...please notice that there are only four stickers and we started Saturday!!

Meet the Smiths

Okay, I am joining the blog world, so please be patient with me as I am learning as I go!!  Just a little background about us.  My name is Megan.  I am a speech pathologist for Amite County School District, but my real full time job is wife to Kris and Mama to Madeline and Chandler.  I love to read, cook, and travel.  Kris or as some people call him, "Spoon" is a fireman in McComb who loves to hunt.  And it seems there is always some kind of hunting season anytime of the year!! 

Our first born daughter, Madeline, is 2 1/2 and is the sweetest and sassiest thing ever!  She can be so sweet and hard headed too "my do by myself"..hmmm wonder where she gets that from?!?  (I like to say her Daddy!)  We are constantly amazed by all that she knows, which is quite comical at times.  She is always asking questions and is extremely curious.  She doesn't forget anything which isn't always a good thing especially when bribing!  Some of the things she likes now are:  Elmo, coloring/toloring, reading books and being read to, playing outside, and riding the four wheeler and lawnmower with her Daddy.  She knows her colors, some of the alphabet, and can count to ten.  She loves to shop with her Shimmy (Aunt Kimberly) and to see people "Mama who dat?"  She has certainly blessed our lives more than we know, and we can't imagine our lives would be like without her or her sister in it!!  She is very proud of her little "sissy" and already very protective of her!

Which brings us to Madeline's sister, Chandler.  Our second miracle entered our lives on September 12, 2012.  She looks JUST LIKE her big sister did with big cheeks and a head full of dark hair.  We honestly thought we were having a boy and would have bet that she was a he, but we wouldn't trade her for a million boys!!  She is the best baby (unlike her sissy, sorry Madeline!!) and loves to cuddle.  One of the main reasons I started a blog was so that I could keep up with the girls, but to also document Chandler's life. 

In order to get to where we are today I am going to go back a little bit so that you know how we got to where we are today.  Let's go back to May when we had our 20 week sonogram.  Since we didn't find out Madeline's sex, we weren't finding out this time either.  This is such a special surprise and until you have done it, don't give us a hard time :)  Our doctor came in after the sonogram and said that the sonographer had found something wrong with the baby's kidneys.  He wasn't worried and said that this may even correct itself but not to google it because we might figure out the sex.  He referred us to Dr. Perry in Jackson for a more detailed sonogram.  Our appointment was June 5th.  The sonographer came in and looked at everything on our baby and then Dr. Perry came in and did the same thing.  He told us that yes our baby had something wrong with the kidneys but also had a hole in the heart.  What?!  A hole in the heart, what does that mean?!  That's when the words Down syndrome were mentioned because these were two characteristics.  But I am only 32 year old, what are you talking about?!?  He then said we could have an amniocentesis done which is 99.9% accurate.  Hello--a needle in my belly, um nooooo!!!  He then told us he wanted us to come back in two days and see Dr. Shores who is a pediatric cardiologist.  Well, of course we had a lot to process!  This was certainly not the news we were expecting, at all!  Dr. Shores was very thorough and explained things so that we could understand.  Yes, our baby does have a hole in the heart and it is called atrioventricular canal (AV canal) and she used the words complete common and mild--whew, it was nice to get the best news possible!  Our baby would require surgery between 4 to 6 months old and would have to be a certain weight.  But the words Down syndrome were brought up again--AV canal is very common in children with Down syndrome.  The only difference between a baby with and without Down syndrome is that a baby with DS normally has a weak suck so it would be harder to get the caloric intake needed to have surgery--that's the only difference!  So then came the time to make the decision about the amnio and we decided to have it done.  I won't go into any gory details but they all bragged on me saying I was a big girl and did great.  It was scary, but I am still alive and Kris didn't pass out!  It took 10 days to get the results back, 10 days!!  That may not sound like a lot but to us it felt like an eternity!!  I found it hard to pray--how do you say "please don't give me a child with special needs or help me understand."  I questioned myself as a mother and could I do it, could I do everything needed for this child?  We had the fear of the unknown with Madeline, but this was completely different.  In the back of my mind I kept saying there is a 50/50 chance and we will be in the 50% chance of not not having Down syndrome.  Come to find out, Kris had already accepted it-no wonder he was so calm about everything!  So on the morning of June 18, Dr. Perry called with the news:  "Megan, your baby does have Down syndrome."  I really have no idea what else he said other than we are here for you and Kris and that he was putting a notebook in the mail.  Now keep in mind that I am a speech pathologist and have treated children with DS but never thought I would have a child with it.  I dreamed my life to be a certain way, and when God had other plans it was hard for me to digest.  I went through all kinds of emotions:  scared, mad, excited, worry, happiness, sad....  I was a mess, but thank goodness for Kris--he was a rock!  We found out on a Monday morning and it seemed by Tuesday night, he was finding things to do so he wouldn't have to look at me or talk about "it."  So when him and Madeline got home from the camp that night, I asked him if he still wanted to be with me.  My mind was going in so many directions even though I didn't think he was going to leave me.  I wanted to be reassured.  He promised he wasn't going anywhere and that he already love this baby so very much.  If anything, this shocking news has made our marriage even stronger!  If it wasn't for him, I might have been curled up in a corner, crying.  I was and still am amazed by the love and support from our family and friends.  We certainly wouldn't be where we are today without God and our wonderful family and friends.  Now we went through alot of raw emotions, but in the end we knew that we were still having a baby-- one of THE GREATEST BLESSINGS IN THE WORLD!!  We had heard from someone that we would get tired of making other people feel better so our motto became "it's going to be okay" and we were saying this to other people!  I know some people didn't know what to say and that was fine because we didn't even know what we wanted to be told.  In a few days the notebook came that Dr. Perry sent to us.  It was from the Central Mississippi Down syndrome society and it was amazing!!  It is filled with useful information and testimonies from parents.  It was so nice to know we weren't alone and that other parents had been where we were about to go. Of course, Kris read the entire book before I did and came home telling me all about it!
Seeing him to motiviated and positive got me excited and out of my "funk."  We had and still have an amazing group of professionals who took care of us and who still take care of us.  It is a great feeling to know we have a wonderful team taking care of us.  The kidneys did in fact heal on their own, and we have to give all the glory to God, because if it had not been for those kidneys, we would have never been to Jackson in the first place.  I know it was all in God's plan and that we needed to be prepared, well, as prepared as we could be and that we needed to know. 

I will enter their birth stories at a later date.  I had to start somewhere so what better place than why I decided to do this blog in the first place?!?  Sorry it's so long..I tend to ramble and love to talk haha!  Oh and the blog name "two shades of blue" comes from our girls' birthstones... Madeline's is aquamarine and Chandler's is sapphire and I have to give the credit to my fabulous sissy, Kimberly, for coming up with it!

I hope that by blogging our journey, I will not only be able to keep up with our daughters' lives, but to one day be a resource for other parents who will walk in our shoes...

Until next time,
Megan

And then there were four...

  Chandler Megan Smith

Sassy big sister loves her little sissy!! (for now haha)

Daddy and his girls :) 

 bath time! 

hello world!