Life Is Good: July 25th

Sunday, July 26, 2009

July 25th

Yesterday, July 25th...it started with breakfast in bed...scrambled eggs and bacon with a strong cup of coffee and a little yogurt on the side (to counteract some of the antibiotics afore mentioned). After breakfast Ryan and I went to Nana's house. Nana was leaving so we went to my brother's house, so I could get a little fill of baby. They have a new baby, Luke, and it had been a week since I last held him, on his birthday. Ryan and I then went home and sat back and watched some Saturday morning cartoons. Qubo has some of the best...Veggie Tales, 3-2-1 Penguins, Babar, etc.

Around 11:00 our doorbell rang. It was my dad and step-mom. They came bearing birthday wishes and time for playing with Ryan. They spent the day yesterday "making the rounds" as they saw each of their Yocham-family grandkids. I'm sure it was an exciting day for them since they have 2 new grandbabies born just weeks apart.

Daddy came home a little after noon and while digging in the refrigerator for something light for lunch I noticed a surprise. One of my most favorite desserts was tucked away with a card on top. Strawberry-Pretzel-Salad and Carrot Cake are my top two when it comes to desserts. My mom is the sweetest (and sneakiest). The Strawberry-Pretzel-Salad was great. After our light lunch...naps. Awww...the joy of a nap on a Saturday afternoon.

Then the fun began. We took off for the City to an unknown destination. What destination you might ask? Red Lobster. My favorite. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I ate crab legs (some of the best I've ever had...the kind you crack the shell and the meat comes out whole, smooth and delectable). Mmmmm. And shrimp scampi too. You can't beat that.

While leaving the restaurant this...

bumper sticker caught our eye. I sooooo want one!

The meal wouldn't be complete without dessert, so to Braum's we went.

Ryan got his own Junior Cone this time. He did great and ate most of it all by himself. I helped him with the ice cream. The cone is actually his favorite.

After dessert we spent the evening in Bricktown. For those of you not from the great state of Oklahoma, that's our downtown entertainment district of OKC. It is full of restaurants, attractions, theatres, and a river walk.

We stopped and saw the buffalo. Ryan is pretty funny. For some reason he has started making the *pig sound* for all animals bigger than a dog, so horses...buffalo...pigs...camels....etc.

Since it was a special occasion we decided to ride the Water Taxi (aka boat) along the canal. It was really enjoyable. We learned quite a lot about Oklahoma and OKC that we didn't already know. Ryan enjoyed it too.

Here is Ryan playing with one of the art sculptures found along the canal while we waited for our boat to arrive.

Here are the two amazing men in my life riding the boat. I love them dearly.

After our boat ride we walked around the canal, stopping often to smell flowers, splash the water, inspect rocks, and look at ducks. We even stopped at Starbucks for a Mocha Frappuccinno.

Before leaving the downtown festivities we stopped for a cool, refreshing splash in the fountains....

It was such a wonderful, amazing, great day! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Oooops. Yes...that's right...yesterday I, Juliette Ann (Yocham) Stanfill had a birthday!
Here is how I was lovingly reminded about it from my mom:

Thirty.

When you think about it, it'sn only three decades.

Three Decades

Seven Presidents

Eight Olympic Games

28 Volcanic Eruptions

87 Space Missions

203 Overthrown Governments

1,712 Oscar Nominations

420,000 New Miles of Highway

51 Million Acres of Cleared Rainforest...

(Amercian Greetings card)

But just for the record...let's just say I'm 29...just one more year. Or maybe 2...or 3. Okay?

2 comments:

Hilary said...: Happy Birthday!!! Looks like it was great!! Oh man I love me some Starbucks too and my hubby is a big fan of Red Lobster too...The pictures are great too :); July 27, 2009 at 8:58 AM
a little love affair said...: You can be 29 for as long as you want to! This past Jan. was the 2nd anniversary of my 29th birthday :) Happy Birthday Julie!; July 27, 2009 at 9:45 PM

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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander