There is something peaceful about a snow storm maybe it’s just the fact that no one can go away. Great day to spend quality time with my dear husband. We really are snowed in. We live on a county road & they are never in a hurry to open it since there aren’t any farmers along here who need to have their milk tanks emptied. I’m o.k. with that.

In our sun room on the north side the windows are just plastered with snow not much to see in that direction.

So I slept in this morning ( sleeping in for me is 7 – 7:30) now I’m ready finally to get some work done. Would be a great day to curl up & watch a movie but I need to make my days at home count so I will work.

Not sure when we will get to see the boys again but certainly not today.

This week we came to realize how blessed we are with support. There was a younger lady in the waiting area with us this week. She has 3 children, her 6 week old baby is in HMC with RSV. The little boy above him was in the York hospital with bronchitis. The baby went into cardiac arrest but they got his heart started again. She hadn’t slept for 4 days. Thur. night at 8:00 she finally fell asleep & woke up Fri. at 8:30 a.m. When she went back to her baby he had taken a severe turn for the worse to the point she didn’t recognize him. He filled up with fluid, his lung collapsed & it wasn’t looking good. She said his lungs look like an 80 year old smoker. This dear woman had no one come & sit with her all week. Her husband was in the York hospital with their other son. When they called the husband’s dad to tell him about the baby he said ” And what am I supposed to do?”  What are you supposed to do?!?  I wanted to yell Why not try with a little support or help here!!  I don’t know the details of the family situation just what this lady told us but that is still no excuse. So if you have family & church that support you in time of pain or even the good times you are very blessed. I learned this week to not take that for granted.

Pray for the families that have to sit in the waiting area of any hospital & for the dear little people suffering from illness.It can be very stressful sitting there waiting & waiting to hear.

 The little boy I talked about his name is Lucas & we never did ask the mother her name. On Thur. morning she said she’s running on coffee, nicotine & adrenaline. So sad.

Enjoy the snowy week end & be blessed!

I got to take Amanda for her 1 week check up today & that Dr. was happy then this afternoon I took her to HMC to see the boys & their Dr. was happy with them & their nurses said they are both doing good.

Benjamin is off the ventilator & Brandon should be tomorrow.

I told John last night this has been the longest week I’ve had in a long time but God was so good to us this week and we feel so blessed.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers, kind words of encouragement, calls etc. I sure helped us get through the week.

Keep all of us in your prayers for our health. It is very important that the boys don’t pick up any germs or sickness. The nurse told Amanda  yesterday “if you even have a tickle in your throat please stay home. I know you want to be with your boys but it’s very important they don’t get sick.”  As hard as that would be we want to listen to her.

Looks like we’re going to get snow so we probably won’t see the boys until Sun. or maybe even Mon.

Well today it’s Brandon’s turn for heart surgery. He should be going down before to long.

Pray for all of us again today, as we sit & wait & wait some more.

I’ll post after surgery is over.

You’ll never know what your kind words & prayer support means until you walk through this journey.

Thanks so much Be blessed today.

Dr. Clark was here a little while ago and said Benjamin’s heart surgery is finished it went well and was a success! Praise the Lord! We are so blessed.

Right now the Dr. is working on his intestine. If possible they will fix that problem too. If not they will at least see what needs to be done when they can.

It’s been a long day and we have 2-3 hours yet until we have an answer from that.

Tomorrow it’s Brandon’s turn but we don’t have an operation time yet.

Thanks for praying it sure was felt. Jeff told Dr. Clark we were praying for him & he said ” I felt it.” That impressed me.

Be blessed.

I knew when the babies were born and only weighed 2 lbs. 14 oz each that we might be in for some very scary days, but then when they were still doing  good at 4 days old & Amanda came home I thought maybe we would actually be so blessed to not have to face all the problems of preemies.  Yesterday all that changed. When the nurses of the boys were making their morning rounds they thought their color wasn’t what it should be. The Dr. started checking them and it was discovered that both boys have a blockage in their main artery. It was explained to us like this:

When babies are in the womb the blood flow is different then after birth & there is a vein that shuts down after birth & the main artery takes over. Since there is a blockage the main artery isn’t taking over and this other vein is starting to shut down. So the boys got transferred to Hershey Med. Center late yesterday afternoon and will be having surgery yet this week to correct their problem.

I was in & got to see Benjamin last night but Brandon was still being settled in. It is hard to imagine that someone that small can actually be operated on but I’m so thankful there are Drs. who know how to do what these boys need.

In spite of this Amanda seems to be doing well, it is of course difficult to see her precious babies like this but they are getting great care.  Jeff is doing a great job supporting her and helping her.

Pray for us & them it’s been quite the journey this last week. Pray especially that Amanda would be able to keep getting her rest like she should with all the running they have to do. Also that we all stay healthy. For Jeff as he’s her support & listening ear & they make decisions about the boys. Don’t forget Katelyn, she’s been a real little trooper through the whole thing.

But God is still good & this did not come as a surprise to Him so we lean on Him & trust Him for wisdom & strength.

WOW it’s been a whirlwind at the Hurst house the last few days.

Our precious grandbabies decided it was to crowded in there & it was time to get out now!  Wed. a little before lunch Amanda went into labor. The Dr. told her to come in & she was sent directly to the hospital. They spent the rest of the day trying very hard to get the labor to stop. At 10:00 p.m. Jeff called and said they were trying one more thing if that doesn’t work the babies will be delivered yet that night. John told him to call no matter what time it is if the babies come.

At 11:00 p.m. Jeff called and said they are preparing Amanda for a C-section.

John felt we needed to go to support them so we headed to Harrisburg. About 12:30 a.m. Jeff called and said “It’s 2 little BOYS”  They weighed in at 2 lbs. 14 oz each and they weren’t measured at that point but they are 15 in. & 14 3/4 in. each. We were not able to see them but Amanda’s nurse very kindly ran down to the NICU and took a picture of the one for us (at this point they didn’t have names for them) the other baby was still be tended by the nurse. So we got to at least see one of them that way.

Thur. morning  Amanda called and said the boys will be named

Benjamin Cole & Brandon Carter.

We were allowed to see them Thur. after lunch so we went up late afternoon and I want to tell you these are the cutest tiny babies I have ever seen & more precious then any baby you’ve ever seen. I’ll let you judge for yourself by these pictures:

Benjamin Cole

 

Brandon Carter

 

This is Jeff's arm next to Benjamin

 

This is John's hand next to Benjamin. His arms are the size od John's finger & his legs the size of John's thumb

So they are very tiny (these pictures don’t show you just how small they really are) but they are doing very good so far.  They are very much identical. The one Dr. said the only difference they saw was one has a smaller mouth then the other. I’m sure we will find differences if not they will need name tags.

Some of you already know the miracle these boys really are. We were very close to loosing them the day before Thanksgiving.  Amanda had been told that she will need to see a multiple birth Dr. Tue. Nov. 24 she saw that Dr. at Harrisburg, he told her the babies are showing signs of Twin-To-Twin-Transfusion-Syndrome (TTTS). What happens is the one baby gets all the nutrients right from the mom and passes a little to the other baby. This puts lots of stress on both their hearts & the one getting just a little doesn’t grow like it should. She was told she will need to see a specialist in Baltimore. Wed. morning the Baltimore office called to set up an appointment and Amanda picked Fri. the office was closed Fri. so she picked Mon. In the mean time unknown to her the Harrisburg Dr. called Baltimore & said they need to see here yet that day (Wed). Baltimore called back & said the Dr. has an opening that day & he’d like her to come right away. So they packed up and went. The Dr. checked her very throughly and said her babies are very sick and need to  be treated with laser surgery. Jeff & Amanda had decided they won’t make any fast decisions. They asked if they can wait until Fri. to decide what to do & the Dr. said “Your babies probably won’t live that long without the surgery.”  So Wed. late afternoon they did a laser procedure on the babies. The next 2 days & then weeks were very critical for the survival of the babies. The Dr. told her later he really didn’t think both her babies would make it through that whole thing. But God had other plans & they did very well after that.

The goal was to get her to carry them until the beginning of March but the boys had other ideas & now here they are.

There was a question that the one had either a twisted or partial dead intestine but there was nothing to do before birth but now that Benjamin is here they are not sure the problem is still there. They will wait to see after he starts taking in milk on his own if they need to do surgery or not.

Keep us all in your prayers that they keep gaining & growing the way they should I know babies this small can take you on a real roller coaster ride.

If they keep doing good & Benjamin doesn’t need surgery there is a possibility of moving them to Lancaster which would be so wonderful if Jeff & Amanda wouldn’t have to drive to Harrisburg all the time.

Thanks for your prayers & support it’s what has carried us & the babies this far. God is good all the time. All the time God is Good!

I knew it was a long time since I posted on here but I didn’t realize it was 2 months.

So what happened in the Hurst house since Sept. 1? Lots of memories have been made. Let me start with Sept.

On Sept. 5 we got our family pictures taken at Jeff & Amanda’s house. Here’s a few:

 

We then went out to eat and Katelyn showed up at the table with a shirt saying ” I’m the big sister” so we are thrilled to say we’re going to be grandparents in March. About a month later one day at work Amanda handed John an ultrasound picture and asked him if he knows what it is. He said “Looks like 2 babies to me.” WOW threw me for a loop so now we will be the grandparents to twins. People often ask if there are twins in the family. Yes John’s grandpa was a twin & I have some cousins that are twins & I have cousins that had twins. So our next spring & summer will be lots of time in Manheim with the babies.

We are very busy being youth advisors as well but throughly enjoying our time with the youth. We had a food stand at the Ephrata parade, youth retreat, barn party, hay ride & prayer & praise. So there is never a lack of activity for us.

Sat. night I had an early 50th birthday party for John at Blue Lake Builders youth center. It was not a surprise which took lots of stress out of it & the food was catered by Big John’s so I pretty much felt like all I had to do was show up.  It was great to see some people we hadn’t seen for awhile.

So that pretty much brings you up to date with us again. I’ll try to d better at keeping this updated.

 

Today is a very special day to me, “why” you ask, well today is my precious mom’s birthday. She is 86 years old.   She is a very strong woman who has not had an easy life.

Her mother died when she was 10 and times were very hard so her & her brothers & sisters got sent to live with other people, lots of other people and not always people she knew. At one point she was living with her aunt & uncle and one day they had company and when the people were ready to go home my Mom was told she was going to go live with these people now and she didn’t even know them.

If you talk to my Mom about how tough a life she had here is what she will tell you:
” There were lots of families like ours so we didn’t think it was so bad.”

She also will tell you she always had enough to eat & a place to stay.

If you want  a more detailed account of my Mom’s life read the book “A Home For Sarah” by Romaine Stauffer. It will make you laugh and cry. When I read the book there were points where I was angry that anyone had the nerve to treat my precious Mom like that.

My Mom is a real trooper she still lives in her own house, does her own work. She told me last week the things she did & didn’t think about now are work, she is slowing down some.

It took me way to long to realize just how precious my Mom really is and now with every passing year she gets more precious to me.

My Mom has been a wonderful example to me of what a woman should look  & act like. She showed me by example how a wife should treat her husband & her children.

My Mom doesn’t like to be the center of attention, & she doesn’t have very much to say but when she speaks it’s worth listening to.

So meet my Mom:

I don't know how old she is here but I'm guessing 17 or 18

 

That's me with my Mom

60th anniversary

Holding great granddaughter Katelyn Sarah May '08

 

Mother's Day '08

So that’s my precious Mom.

To celebrate her birthday we’re having sister’s day tomorrow. It shall be lots of fun.

I don’t know how many more years I will have my Mom but I will treasure every day I have with her.

It’s hard to believe summer is almost over. I called summer over when the kids went back to school & I know some went yesterday. It still feels & looks like summer but it will come to an end fast now.

It’s been awhile but we’ve been doing the normal things of life.  Working, keeping up our place, spending time with family & friends.

One thing that has happened is on Sun. Aug. 23 our church voted us in as the new youth advisers for the next 2 years. When we were asked to go on the slate our first reaction was “we’re to old, we don’t have kids in the youth group, we’ve been there done that.” but we keep getting the answer of  yes from people we asked advice from. So we agreed to go on the slate & if we’re elected we’ll give it our best & our all. So it will be interesting I’m sure but we are excited about spending time with the youth & are hoping to be a real blessing to them.

I know lots of people are canning & freezing, I really don’t have much that I need. Amanda & I are going to do tomatoes together & corn other then that I have what I need for another year. I’d like to get the things I have in the freezer used.

Another thing we did that maybe some of you already heard we bought a little house south of Scheafferstown along the 501. We’re going to rent it out for now but it is where we would like to eventually live the property came up for sale  at a good price so we bought it. We were actually in S. Dakota when the auction was held so we sent Paul & Gloria to the sale. They were on the phone with John while the auction was happening. Very interesting way to buy a property.

 If you know someone who needs a little house have them contact us. It’s only 2 bedrooms, bathroom, LR, & kitchen/dining room combo. We make settlement in Sept. & the place is pretty much ready to go.

So that is pretty much what is happening at the Hurst house.

We had a great week end.

Started out Fri. evening with the reception for our neighbors son. They had a very small private wedding then a reception for the friends.

The beautiful setting for the outdoor reception

cute center piece

The Reed family. Jason & Grace, Jeron & Kara, Lorah & Jim Lehman & boys

Sat. evening we invited some of our friends over to see our out west pictures and to make mountain pies. By the time we wanted to watch the pictures it was a little rainy so we all moved over into my Mom’s garage.

Sun. was church  then we were invited to our ministers home for a very delicious lunch.

Don’t have to overly much planned this week.

Summer all of a sudden showed up today. Thankfully there was a breeze & being in the shade wasn’t to bad.