The Sheepfold and the Voice of the Shepherd

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Stone sheepfold John 10:22-30 Recently my boys have been spending a great deal of time outside in the area that will soon be transformed into our garden. They spend endless hours digging in the dirt for worms. They then promptly take those worms and throw them to the chickens. It amazes me how even chickens can learn to recognize sounds or voices. My oldest makes this funny high-pitched sound when he comes out of the house and heads toward the coop. The chickens practically fall over themselves running toward the fence or out of the coop when they hear him making his sound. They know there is food to follow! In Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells us that, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me." and "I am the gate for the sheep." Today, again, Jesus mentions that His sheep know His voice and follow Him.  In these few verses we learn that Jesus is both gate and shepherd for the sheep. In those days and even today in some places, a sheepfold w
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Catherine

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I love this picture. The dress was given to Catherine by a dear friend just a week after her birth last year and I have been waiting ever since to try it on her! Nevermind that it is a size 3 months...and Catherine weighs 18#8oz and normally wears size 6-9 months!

So Catherine is gaining weight, despite the fact that she throws up about 2 oz. everynight. So since she was having those problems, her surgeon decided to have another upper GI done today. It showed no obstructions but only reflux. She threw up all the barium after only 40mL was put through her G-tube. I haven't talked with the surgeon yet, but to me that sounds like pretty severe reflux. I am not sure what else can be done to keep her from throwing up each night. She has been on prevacid since she has come home. I would like a GI doctor's opinion and I am working on getting that in the near future.


She is getting more mobile now and will roll from one end of the room to the other. So that means no more leggos in the living room! She is still working on sitting and gaining better head control. Her physical therapist really wants her to start bearing weight on her legs in the next few months. All the boys started doing this around 4 months old, when I would hold them upright they would straighten their legs and bear weight for a little bit. Catherine won't do this at all, even in the exersaucer she will not bear weight on her legs. The PT explained that doing this is important because her bones will not grow and develop properly if they don't bear weight. So she mentioned the possibility of braces and a contraption that would force her to bear weight on her legs if she didn't start doing this by 18 months (she is 13 1/2months now).


Catherine is still not taking very much by mouth. She doesn't breastfeed anymore and refuses the bottle for the most part. She spits out baby food and never shows signs of hunger during the day. Her therapists and doctors say this is pretty common among kids that are tube fed. I also wonder if her gut issues are contributing to her unwillingness to eat by mouth. We need a GI doctor! Stat!

Well, I think that is all for now...we will be visiting my family coming up here soon, some of whom haven't even seen Catherine yet. Please pray for a safe, peaceful trip for us and for Jim who will be in the wilds of New Mexico for 10 days! We continue to pray for all of you.

Comments

Emily said…
IT's great to hear about all her progress! She looks adorable in that dress.
7:20 PM
Barbara said…
She looks sweet in that dress, Nicole. I hope you find a pediatric GI guy soon. We went through the Children's system for one of our older kids but only ever saw a nurse practitioner during several appointments. I think they (ped GI docs) are few and far between. We'll have to work on a patron saint of tummy trouble!
10:22 PM
Patience said…
If it's any consolation; my youngest dd was adopted from an orphanage at age 10 months and hadn't been given opportunities to crawl etc (ie weight bearing); didn't learn to walk until 18 months and her legs seem just fine.
Also had a friend whose son was also adopted but older and he wouldn't take weight on his legs at 19 mos and is fine today. (he had parasite issues and was weak)
8:03 AM
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