Choose Life

Brent and I saw this video of the news and thought it was very powerful.


As many of you know, this week is designated as the Sanctity of Human Life Week because during this week, we marked the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade decision which legalized abortion in the United States. Also during this week, President Obama decided to reverse a ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information (Source: news.yahoo.com). This news greatly saddened our hearts and really made us stop and think about this issue of choosing life. I know that I am guilty of not praying enough or speaking up for the rights of the unborn. It is in times like these when we are reminded that we do need to pray and ask God what He would have us do in this very important issue that affects our future generations!

A Star is Born

Yesterday Brent sent the photo below of Blake's first snow day into our local weather station. Well apparently this morning around 6:15am, WAVY TV 10 showed our precious little boys picture to discuss the disappointment of no snow. So Blake is a Star! Unfortunately, we missed seeing it ourselves. (If any of you in the area happened to DVR the newscast let us know)

Blake's First Snow Storm

Well, it was supposed to be his first snow storm anyway! The weather forecast for today called for 3-5 inches of snow, which would have been the first significant accumulation around here since 2004. Unfortunately, the white stuff never arrived. The good news is that Brent got the day off anyway, so we got to spend the unexpected four-day weekend as a family. Hopefully Blake will get to see some real snow before winter ends!

There's no place like home!

It has been an eventful couple of days with the Nieters. As many of you have probably heard, Blake was diagnosed with croup on Wed morning. Croup is a viral infection that causes the swelling of the larynx "voicebox" which produces a yucky cough that sounds like a seal is barking. In a serious case, the swelling can also narrow the esophagus affecting a person's ability to breath. Blake was feeling fine on Monday but started this barky cough on Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, he was waking himself up every hour with this cough and seemed to have a hard time catching his breath. On Wed. morning he was having such a hard time breathing I called the doctor who after listening to him breath for a couple minutes sent us straight to the ER. We went to Chesapeake General since it was so close and Brent was able to leave school to meet us there. At Chesapeake, Blake went through two breathing treatments (not fun to hold on oxygen mask over a ten month old), x-rays of his throat, and a round of steroids. Blake began improving somewhat but the pediatrician thought it was best to admit him to CHKD, a specialty children's' hospital for observation overnight since croup gets worse at night. It was a long night in the ER and hospital with very little sleep for mommy & Blake but thankfully Blake improved overnight. This morning his breathing was greatly improved and they released him to come home this afternoon. We want to thank all of you for your prayers. It was a pretty scary situation hearing your child labor for every breath but we knew God was in control! We are so blessed to have your love and support and we give God all the glory for his healing touch on our little boy!

Sitting in the ER

Blake had his own little hospital gown

Blake was being a little dramatic. Although, after all we put him through he deserved to be!

Waking up this morning after a rough night

Feeling better this morning and playing in his cage :)

Learning New Tricks

Waving...sort of.

Bustin' a move!

A New Year

I cannot believe it is 2009. Last year seems like such a blur because of how fast it went. 2008 was without a doubt the hardest year of my life but also the year with the greatest joy :) Having Blake has changed everything and I am so thankful for him and what he brings to our family. I am so excited about this next year and what it holds. I find myself anticipating the new adventures but also wanting time to slow down so I can enjoy every moment. I thank God for his continued faithfulness to our family. We have been blessed beyond measure and our prayer is that God blesses each of you and your families this new year!

First Sickness

We made it 9 1/2 months before Blake had his first sickness. This past Sunday morning Blake woke up very early not feeling well. By mid morning, he had a temperature of 104.5. Of course being on a Sunday, we couldn't take him to the doctor so I had to call the nurses line first to see if they thought I should take him to the emergency room. Thankfully though, the Tylenol began to bring the fever down so we decided to use some home measures until we could take him in Monday morning. However, he woke up Monday with no fever. We were so happy and decided to wait it out and see how he did during the day. Well, throughout the day and night it became evident that he still was not himself and when his temperature went back up to 102 on Tuesday morning, we went to the doctor. Blake has his first ear infection :( He was such a trooper and really wasn't too fussy just very lethargic. Thankfully the antibiotics are working great and he seems to be back to his normal smiley self. It is times like these that remind us to be thankful for our health.

"I don't feel good"