Helping out the Startups

On June 7, 2012, Copeland Startup's heart stopped.  He was exactly 20 months old.  Copeland is the son of our dear friends, Will and Lauren.  Will and Lauren lived with us in Arizona for a couple of years as John and Will played baseball together.  The story is an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness and divine mercy. I can't do it justice, so if you haven't already been to the Startup's blog to read it in Will's words, please check it out. http://willlaurenstartup.blogspot.com

As of this date, Copeland has been hospitalized for 16 days.  Two weeks of that time were spent in the ICU.  He was transported by ambulance twice, helicopter once, and went through open heart surgery to implant a pacemaker/defibrillator.  He's had heart and brain MRIs, chest xrays, and blood tests.  He is now in a rehabilitation hospital relearning how to sit up, stand, walk, use his arms, regain his language abilities, etc.  The initial estimate on the time he will spend there is three months.  Will is no longer gaining a paycheck as he hasn't been working for 16 days.  In addition, their only car is in Texas (where Will was playing independent baseball), along with all of their belongings.  They are now in Atlanta and need to have their things shipped back to them.

Many people have asked how they can help the Startups in this time of crisis and great need. Praying for their family is the number one way you can help.  Another way is through financial support.  As you can see from the preceding paragraph, they have some big financial needs.  If anyone has ever even been on a trip to the ER without an ambulance, you know the astronomical cost of medical care, let alone ambulance rides and days in ICU.  Will and Lauren are amazing parents and amazing followers of Christ.  Their trust in God and faithfulness through this crisis has been inspiring to me and many people that I know.  They are humble and generous.  If you feel led, please consider donating to Copeland's medical fund.  Any amount would bless them tremendously.  Any donations made go directly to Copeland's care and needs. 

You can donate in one of two ways.  If you'd like to make a deposit into Copeland's fund, you can go to any Bank of America location and make a deposit.  If you are outside of Georgia, you will need an out of state deposit slip. Name: Copeland Startup Account #: 334034302802

Or you can click the donate link and make a donation through Paypal.  Just click the button below.  You can also send money through Paypal using the email address: copelandsfund@gmail.com

Paypal does take a small fee out of the deposits made through them, but it is a very convenient way to donate.  If you want to be sure your full donation without fees goes to the Startups, please go directly to a Bank of America to make your donation.

Thank you so much for all of your prayerful support for their family.  They are so grateful for the tremendous show of care and concern they have received so far.

Milestones and some pictures

I'm not good at keeping up this blog, but that's ok. I don't even know if anyone reads it, but it's nice to have a place to keep some notes about milestones and the like. Since my last post, Lainey turned 3 and we had a great party for her. We had fun on Halloween too, dressing up as a family with a "Tangled" theme. Brooke is growing and learning and making us smile all the time.

Lainey also started preschool. She says she doesn't like it, but she always seems happy when we pick her up. She's learning a new letter each week and learning to follow directions and share with classmates. She's doing great with puzzles, counting, and memorizing just about anything. She's in AWANAs and has learned about 10 verses so far.

Brooke is 10 months now and she's signing more now. Just yesterday she really started using "MILK" regularly. She's done it here and there, but now she'll sign it when you ask and when she wants milk. She's been signing "ALL DONE" for a while and she's also starting to sign "DADDY." She's less inclined toward communication than Lainey was, but she's more tactile. She seems to learn by doing and it's been fun to watch her grow and change. She is very close to walking. She takes one or two steps now between furniture and seems very, very proud of herself when she does it. No teeth yet, but they seem to be close. She is still not sleeping through the night which is kind of a bummer, but I keep reminding myself that this period of time is not that long in the grand scheme of things.

And now to some pictures. :)

Flynn Rider, Rapunzel, Mother Gothel, and the Flower

The Fearsome Duo

Somebody found a marker...

Getting ready to pick out our Christmas tree

Tree decorating time!

Silly girl

Reading books in the ladybug tent together.

Peek-a-boo!

I can do it too!

Boo!

This sweet hen was Lainey's buddy today when we went to ride Lexi.

The hen was so quiet and gentle. Lainey was smitten.

That's all for today! I would promise to update more, but I know I can't keep that promise. I will try though. :)

Oh no... 3 months later!

Wow, I've been behind on blog posts! I'll have to pull together some pictures and videos soon. We've been overwhelmed by life lately. Between travel and getting back into the groove of life at home, I feel like we are just now getting settled back into a rhythm. Brooke is still not quite sleeping through the night. She'll grace me with 6 hours in a row every so often and it's like a breath of fresh air! Most nights it's still every 3-4 hours. We will get there soon though. She's hitting some big milestones right now and I'm certain it's not helping her sleep.

She started scooting about three weeks ago. It sort of looked like an army crawl with one foot pushing and the other hip scooting to catch up. Just in the last week, she's upgraded to a real crawl, belly up and all. She's not too fast yet, but she knows how to get around to whatever she really wants. She's fun. She's really kicking in with the talking now. She says Mama all the time. She'll say Dada and La-La-La too! So cute! Lainey loves it when she calls her La-La. No teeth yet for this little one and I don't really expect them for another two months or so, despite the massive amount of drool she's able to produce.

Lainey is cruising along toward three years old. This includes dressing herself and choosing her own clothes, (mostly) brushing her teeth (we do a once over after she's done), emptying the silverware from the dishwasher, and talking back. :) That last one is a new development that I'm told is a very 3 year old thing. We're working on it. :) She's in dance class again and she really loves that. She is also going to start preschool in about a month! Holy cow! I can't believe I have a preschooler.

Hopefully I'll get my act together and get a new video posted. I've had requests for a chat with Lainey again. We'll try to do that this weekend. :)

We are in the midst of more travels. We are on trip 3 of 3 with just me and the girls. It's been... interesting. Lainey is in the throes of the terrible twos. And they really can be terrible sometimes. I've had to up my game as disciplinarian with her. It's not fun, but after a couple of weeks of a little more tough love she's really doing better. Not perfect by any means, but better.

The biggest challenge has been sleeping. We have all been sleeping in the same room for the last few weeks on and off. That is a big challenge for Lainey. She is a dark room, no noise, no distractions kind of sleeper. She's been sleeping a lot less because of the sleeping arrangements and that really does not improve behavior at all. We are now at my mom and John's house where she can sleep in her own room. She's doing so much better. She now wants the door open with a little bit of light to fall asleep. And now she is staying in bed when she's told, so that helps so much. Wake up time has been creeping earlier and earlier which is tough on this night owl. But in some ways I actually enjoy waking up earlier and getting my day started. If only Brooke was sleeping through the night and I was rested!

And that brings me to little Miss Brooke. This little munchkin is such a happy little girl. She is all smiles and giggles these days. It's awesome. She seems to be a much more expressive baby than Lainey was. When she's happy, you know it. When she's not, you know that too, but fortunately that's not too often unless she's overtired. She's a much bigger baby than Lainey. She's wearing clothes now that Lainey wore at one year and beyond. It's kind of funny to see such a young baby wearing the clothes Lainey walked in. She's off the charts for height and 93% for weight. And while you'd think that means she should sleep through the night, it actually means she's up every 3 hours round the clock. We're getting through it though. When we are home next month and I have a tag team partner again I'd like to try to night wean her a bit. We are in survival mode right now.

Brooke's milestones so far:

-Found her toes last week.
-Rolled tummy to back two weeks ago.
-Rolled back to tummy last week.
-Grabbing toys and reaching for things with more dexterity now.
-Lots of baby babble.

Lainey's recent milestones:

-Two year molars finally broke through! Uppers in late April, lowers in mid-May.
-First dentist appointment! She saw my cousin's husband, Dr. Jeff on our trip last week. All looks good, but she has some decalcification on her upper eye teeth, possibly from a fever during development.
-She surprises us almost daily with her vocabulary and knowledge of concepts (like that she can get away with things if adults aren't watching and asking us to leave).
-If it's a princess, she loves it. Sleeping Beauty is her favorite, but she's going to be "Purpunzel" in the purple dress for Halloween when she turns 3. :)
-Favorite word that she doesn't say correctly, "Leegotard"

Making shortcake with Grandma

Strawberry shortcake time!

Jammie time