It's a long one folks, don't say I didn't warn ya!

Well, it has been awhile. Alot has happened, and many of you know the story, and some don't, so for those who have yet to be aware of what has been going on with us, here goes.
We had planned on taking Bailey to church for the first time on Sunday morning July 5th, when she woke just before 6 am with a fever. We tried to cool her down and determine what it was from for nearly 2 hours, taking her temp, monitering her, trying to nurse (which she wouldn't do). She acted like her belly hurt, and maybe needed to poop, but we weren't sure. Finally, we took her temp one last time and it read 101.8. That was it, and we took her in.
We entered Dublin Methodist ER around 9 am, they looked her over and decided we would be better just to head for Children's Hosp, as they are better equipped for such a little one. They called ahead, and we meet them in the ER here. They took blood and urine samples right away to be cultured, and attempted to do a spinal tap to test her spinal fluid as well, but got only a little bit of blood. Began anti-biotics right away, b/c with babies so little, you can't wait around for test results to begin treating. After all that (several hours) we were admitted and put on the 6th floor, infectious diseases, b/c we did not know what we were dealing with. The remainder of the evening and over night, we were treating her fever with tylenol and continued antibitocs, and giving fluids to hydrate. Each time the tylenol would begin to wear off, her fever would spike higher than before, staying between 102 and going as high as 104.2 She was so miserable the whole night, whining and grunting in pain. It was a very long night and things did not get better in the morning. We had seen that she began to swell, and what we were learning is that whatever this infection that we were fighting was, was causing her blood vessels to leak. And that meant that, like a soaker hose, the fluid still got to where it needed to go, but also that along the way, it was pooling in her lungs, making it harder for her to breathe. That afternoon (Monday) was the worst of my life. We were watching helplessly as Bailey suffered and struggled to take a breath. During the transport from 6th floor to 4th floor, where the PICU was located (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) I could see her turning purple even up into her belly. It was at that moment I realized that we really may lose her. I couldn't vocalize that to Brian at the time, b/c I was in shock and refused to say it aloud for fear that it might come true. As we sat in the ICU waiting room, I tried not to think about the fact that we had no idea what all was happening to our little girl. During the 2 hours that we were waiting to be able to go back and see Bailey, they had sent up the chaplain, several nurses and a doc to talk with us. They were keeping us updated as they could, but continued to tell us we had to wait. FInally, the doc came out and told us that they had intubated Bailey (breathing tube with machine to breathe for her), set a central line IV in her thigh, filled her with fluids to get her temp down, and completely sedated her and placed a feeding tube in her nose. Basically, Bailey was working so hard to breathe, that her heart rate was up over 200 and the rest of her body was shutting down.
We spent 5 days in the PICU, just working to get her blood pressure to stablize, start feeding her very small amounts of milk directly into her small intestine via the feeding tube (bypassing her tummy so that there would be no danger of regurg and aspirating anything into her lungs) just keeping on the vent to allow her adequate rest to recoop before allowing her to wake up and work at breathing on her own and so forth.
As her BP and temp slowly stabalized, we weened her off of the epinephrin and began to talk about and actively weening her off of the ventilator. Then off of the sedatives and pain meds. Began giving her lasix to get the fluids off of her (she was VERY swollen all over) took out her catheter, and other things I'm sure I am forgetting. There was alot going on! Friday she had a PICC IV line placed in her right arm, which is a long term IV for administering the antibiotics, which allows us to leave the hospital and administer the remaining course ourselves with help of home nurses. Then in the afternoon, the breathing tube came out, and our little girl started waking up and looking around, somewhat groggily. Saturday we moved back up to the 6th floor, and have been working on regaining strength and nursing successfully. As of Wednesday morning, the doctor gave her a clean bill of health, the feeding tube was removed, and we plan on going home Thursday. We and the doctors to this day have no idea what exactly was wrong, all the test results came back negative. Basically we are calling it a septic shock/infection (septic basically refers to an infection of the bloodstream)

Throughout this entire experience, we have seen God move in sooo many ways. We heard from numerous ICU nurses that she was the worst septic case they had seen in a while, and that her recovery in under a week was nothing short of miraculous. They said most babies that sick usually spend 2 or 3 weeks in ICU. This hospital is amazing, we have been amazingly well cared for, and we're thankful everyday for them saving our little girl's life. We met a few parents of other patients, and were so blessed by those new friendships, and equally heartbroken by their stories. And we can't say a big enough thank you to everyone who visited us here, and especially to those who brought meals. To have a community of friends and family who take care of each other like this is a gigantic blessing. To all of you, please know that we are so grateful, and if ever a need like this should arise for any of you (God forbid), we will be the first bearing a ridiculously great meal. We also know that the outcome of this saga would be totally different had it not been for the millions of prayers going up on Bailey's behalf. Prayers from people who have never seen or met this precious little girl. We saw firsthand the fruits of those prayers. So thank you most of all for that.
Mabri did amazingly well, staying with her grandmas, but it was torture to be away from her. It has been time of adjustment for the past couple of weeks, so we ask that your prayers continue for us, the MIllers.
Needless to say, we were glad to se July go. For about 12 days after we got home from the hospital, we had home care nurses coming once a day to check on Bailey and check her PICC line, and we administered IV antibiotics 3 times a day to finish out the 21 day course.
We are now getting adjusted to being a family of 4, and doing well. Mabri loves her little sis, and tries so hard to help her. She is the pacifier police, and the moment that thing pops out, Mabri is on it.
Bailey is doing wonderfully. She is growing and changing so fast, and normalcy is here. She fights sleep like her big sis did and has no problem letting you know when she is unhappy with her squeal. She is my sweet baby girl.
Here are a few pictures for you all to feast you eyes on. These did not load in the order that I wanted, so I hope they don't confuse anyone!






Yes, we were actually sleeping like this!
















Little sis and big sis - little sis not happy!


















After the hospital experience, Mabri was really into "medicine" and apparently Daddy was very ill.










Bailey's ICU room, and all the machines...















Bailey on day 2 of ICU...you can see that she is very swollen, and has the vent tube and feeding tube, and is sedated.







...and Bailey earlier today NOT taking her nap!














...the aftermath of Mabri finger painting earlier today.




















...the result of Mabri finding Mommy's WATERPROOF mascara...right before we were leaving for church.












Mabri in her "bincess" (princess) atire.

Can you believe it??!!

WOW..... the end of June is here. This year is just flying by and we are so happy to introduce to the world our new baby girl.
Bailey Grey Miller was born at 2 am Friday morning, the 26th. She weighs in at 9 lbs 15 oz, and measures 20 1/2 inches long. The entire birth process was so amazing, Brooke was incredible, as was our midwife and everyone who helped in any way. I know it's been a long time since we did anything on here, so we apologize for that if you've been following... To our credit we did misplace our camera for about a month and found it only a few days before the birth.... Whew! Mabri is loving her little sister, and is planting kisses on her left and right.... Her vocabulary is exploding right now, she comes up with stuff every day, and Brooke and I look at each other and say, "We didnt teach her that!" She's got the ABC song pretty much down, except for that tricky stretch of LMNOP, and she also loves Row your boat and Twinkle, twinkle. She also has her own stubbornness and attitude down at times, but we're working on it. She loves to help Mommy cook and clean, as well as other baby related activities that mommies do, as you will see.....

So here's some pics of the new little one and also of the curly headed little munchkin:

I'm Two Years Old! What's Mommy Gonna Do?

Yes, my little hair monster has turned two. It's so hard to believe that we are at this point already. Mabri has turned into quite the little girl. Everyday we get closer to full sentences, please and thank you come more voluntarily, and the best thing to hear in the world has to be when out of nowhere she looks at me and says "I love you, Mommy." Ah, my heart. She is really into singing little songs (very short versions of longer songs!) and many that we don't understand. She especially likes to sing in the car at the top of her lungs when Mommy is on the phone. She has really become my little helper in the kitchen, always up at the sink with me, sitting in her spot on the counter watching me cook, dumping in her own ingredients, and putting away clean dishes and silverware for me. She puts her own socks and shoes on (when they don't require tying) and really likes putting her own pants on too. The shirts we are still working on! We'll be doing really good when she can comb her own hair.
Mabri had a great little birthday party. Both sets of grandparents were able to be there, along with several of the kids that Mabri sees most often (and of course their parents!). We had a lot of fun, a lot of food and of course a lot of cake. And now for pictures!

Buddies























Trying to blow out the candle. Daddy had to help!
















The cake with LOTS of gooey frosting!























Brian and I got her 2 guppies and a little tiny frog as part of her birthday present from us. She loves fish and frogs.























Pure excitement.























Pure sugar.
















She is definately learning to strike a pose.


















This is the face that makes it all worth it. Love this kid.



















Well, that's all for now. Hope you are blessed today.
Brooke for the Miller's

So many new pictures, guess it's time to post!

Well, I relaized that I have been taking alot of pictures/videos the last couple weeks, and so i must share a few of them with you all.


Here is what a time-out can sound like. Someday, they will think this is funny.


Super cheese!


















Buddies


















My pretty girl























Sometimes we try to save time by putting our legs in one pant leg.























Mabri decided that we needed something more added to our wall . . . there was a VERY long time-out to go with this 8 foot wide piece of art. It's amazing what kids can accomplish in 5 minutes or less while you are getting a much needed shower.


















She desperately wanted to take her gloves to naptime with her . . . I guess her hands were cold.


















Watching the Inauguration . . . hmmmm . . . is the economy fixed yet?



















Well, TTFN! (Ta ta for now) Hope we made ya smile for a minute!
Brooke for the Miller's

We have some catching up to do!

Hi everybody. I decided it was high time our blog get updated, so here we are, Brian is watching the game and I am hard at work letting you all know what has happened in our household for the past month.
Mabri has had a "verbal growth spurt" if you will. Last week we were shocked to hear so many new things that we know she was just catching in conversation by listening to us. SCARY! At least they were all good things. I think my favorite has been "you're welcome" she knows that it follows "thank you". People overhearing her would think we have a very polite well-behaved child, and some days they would be correct. Most days, they would see her and realize that the terrible two's have arrived and reared their ugly head. Let's just say that bad attitude, meltdowns and fits are an all too normal part of our day. Nevertheless, she is a walking, talking, full-fledged little person now, and I love it despite the attitude! She is soooooo stubborn and strong-willed (does every parent think that about their 2 year old?) and that will be a good thing someday, but not when mommy asks you to pick up your toys. *Sigh*
As for me, I am feeling much better, the nausea is pretty much gone, although the exhaustion is not. I truly enjoyed our Christmas break, and we were so busy. We got to spend alot of time with alot of family and friends and got to have our very first Christmas morning just the 3 of us, which was nice. Mabri loved opening all her gifts from everyone, and playing with her cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents throughout the 2 weeks that our Christmases spanned.
Brian is doing fine as well. I'd say apart from the time off work and time with family and friends, his favorite day was just this past Saturday. He was gifted with some Christmas money, and decided to have a little fun with it and became a proud new papa . . . of an Epiphone Firebird. Need I say more?
Ok, on to the explanation of pictures . . . and some of them will need some explanation!

Here is Mabri playing her guitar, helping Daddy prepare for Sunday morning worship. Love love love this!


















Here we are having just a bit of a fashionista breakdown. She got some dress up stuff from Cousin Carter and after getting it on first thing in the morning, decided she wasn't happy with oatmeal for breakfast.


















Here she is with her cousins Carter and Cole. Trust me, it was tough to get them all in one place at one time.


















Brian's Mom tried something new this year. As part of our Christmas festivities, we dressed up and sort of acted out the Christmas story. Pappy read the story from the Bible, while Carter and Mabri were supposed to be the sheep in the Nativity scene. Mabri was a rather reluctant sheep and never actually sat by the Baby Jesus as part of the scene. She preferred wandering around the shop. Wonder what that says about her?


















Yes, she is starting to want to "dress up" and Brian's Christmas boxers are no exception.























Mabri got a tent and sleeping bag from her Grandma and Grandpa in Indiana, and she loves it. Camping trip, here we come!


















Daddy and Mabri playin' in the tent!



















Last but not least, Mabri received some bath crayons from Mommy and Daddy. Let's just say they are a HUGE hit. The great thing about this kid is that if you give her a washcloth, she'll scrub the tub wall with you. What a good helper!























Well, I think that may be it for us. I need to wrap it up anyways. It's past 9 pm, my bedtime and all. I am surprised I am still conscious. Til next time, peace and cheese curds. (no idea what that means, don't ask, pregnancy brain.)
Love from the Millers'

Yes, I know it's been awhile . . .

Sorry everyone. I sure hope that by now you know not to hold your breath to see an update from us. We do the best we can. Life has been busy and tiring lately, and most days I'm not too sure why. I can get thru a day (and right now I am just "getting thru") and wonder what I did and if I really accomplished anything. I know that is the norm with kids, but still, I wonder . . .
We had a nice thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving Day with Brian's family and ate ourselves into oblivion and Trivial Pursuited (can I make that a verb?) also into oblivion. The next day Brian had to work a partial day, and then we left for Indiana to see my family and spend the weekend at my parents' house. There we also ate our selves into oblivion, and just RELAXED for awhile. It was good to see our families and be able to just spend time with them. We love you guys!
Now, we are gearing up for the Christmas season. For us that means tons of cookies (Mabri and I are leaving tonight to stay with Renee's family in Indiana to make 3 million doz. Christmas cookies and candy for a day), we just had an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (i will post our family portrait from that later) caroling with our church, and two Christmases, one here in OH and one in IN, and lots of family time. I love this time of year simply because once we get to where we are going, we can just hang out. Everything else can turn into a blur because the pace of life is so crazy or feels mundane, but just having down time with the fam is awesome. I know that the pressure of the economy and life can put a damper on things and believe me, we are feelin' it, but I am so thankful for all our family and friends. You guys are a large part of what makes our life. We are thankful for each and everyone of you.
So, now that I have gotten the sappy stuff out of the way, how about some pictures?

Yes, the hair keeps getting bigger and more out of control. It will eventually act like hair, right?


















Mabri is really into "watching" and "helping" these days. She is constantly pushing a chair to the sink or the stove to watch what Mommy is up to. You'll notice the wet spot on her shirt . . . that extended down to her knees.























My sweet husband doing dishes for me and his big helper. Dishes make me gag alot these days. Maybe I'll keep that up for awhile if it gets me out of dishes . . .


















Teaching George to use the potty like a big . . . monkey?


















Just in case you were thinking Mabri is perfectly behaved all the time, let me squash those rumors now. This is what timeouts look like these days. Nose to the wall.


















First time out in the snow this year. She LOVES snow, and was pretty mad when it was time to come in and eat dinner.























This may be the reason it took so long for me to update this blog. On most nights, if it's after 9pm, this is where you will find me and probably in the the state of unconsciousness.


















Well, that's it from me. We hope you all have a fantastic and blessed Christmas season. If we don't get back here 'til then, Merry Christmas and we'll see you in the New Year!
Brooke for the Miller's

Big news, Big news

hey all, and welcome to the latest edition of the life and times of the Millers. I can't believe it's November already. Mabri is starting to really emulate us more and more, which is somewhat scary. She's amazingly smart. She is really developing her own personality, to the good and the bad. She's learning new words every day, some that we teach her, and some she just picks up from somewhere, and all of sudden she says it, and we're like, where the heck did that come from????? Makes for some great entertainment. As for Mommy and Daddy, we're doing well, gearing up for winter, UGH. Not my favorite season of the year, to be perfectly honest. I'm a summer dude. And speaking of next summer, late June to be exact, we will be welcoming Miller Munchkin #2!!!! No, your eyes are not deceiving you. We are pregnant!!! We're trying to explain it to Mabri, and she'll point to Brooke's tummy when we ask where Mommy's baby is. She loves playing with her baby dolls, pushing them around in a little stroller and putting them to bed. So we're positive she'll be a great big sister. So that's about it, thanks for checking out our part of the world wide web, and until next time, enjoy some pics.

Brian

This is the aftermath of trying to drink a bowl of yogurt with cherrios in it. Try it you might like it!


















This is Mabri with Aaliyah, the baby Brooke watches on Mondays and Tuesdays.


















Mabri likes to "help" daddy . . . lookin' a little scary here.











































































Mabri wiping her baby's bottom. She sees Brooke do this alot during the day. She makes you realize how much she is watching everything we do. She actually started emulating Brooke the other day by gagging (the first trimester gag reflex is out of this world).


















Have a fantastic Thursday. Blessings!