Please be in prayer for baby Trey.  He was born yesterday at 28 weeks gestation weighing only 1 lb. 14 oz.  Yesterday, his kidneys were not functioning & he had no white blood cells (WBC).  We received word this morning that his kidneys were functioning & that his WBC were elevated!  Praise the Lord for His goodness.

Also, keep his parents James & Naomi & his 2 older sisters Madeline & Adrianna in your prayers.  James is our bus director & Naomi is our Pastor’s oldest daughter.  Donald & I went to school with them.

Here is a blog updating his progress!

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sorry for the lack of updates….we have been non-stop for the last month & I just have not taken the time to update….

Quick recap of the last few weeks…

• Donald’s gallbladder removal went well, after a few days of recovery he was back to normal.  Besides the occasional “I just had major abdominal surgery” he seems to be fine!  Business has been steady, for which we are incredibly thankful for.  He is teaching two classes this semester at the college, and has had the opportunity to substitute a bit.
• Judith (me) - I have just been busy taking care of ALL the boys & the usual mommy/wife things.  (sorry I am so boring!)
• Levi needs a haircut.  Seriously the kid looks like he has a wig on!  He continues to be wide open from morning till night & is in to the “superhero” stage right now.  He loves Jack & annoys the mess out of him ALL the time!
• Jack is 11 1/2 months old already.  He is WALKING!  & gets into EVERYTHING!  He has 6 teeth.  His hair looks like Albert Einstein- it sticks straight up!  He is stubborn, and is learning to pooch his lip out when he gets in trouble.(which seems to be often due to his temper & naughtiness)  He is finally taking a sippy cup, and still has a healthy appetite!

Many (well most) of you know, my little brother Tim is getting married on February 7th.  Hard to believe, he seems so young, but I can’t say anything because at his age I was already married a year!  Life has been busy with showers, showers, & more showers!

Exciting news!  My friend, Ashley, started a blog!  I have been secretly hoping that she would.  I know that their testimony will be such a phenomenal picture of God’s love & grace to others especially parents who have lost a child or have a child with special needs.  Their story is beautiful.  Their love for our Lord is beautiful & I know you will be blessed by them.  So head on over to www.dailylivingtodie.blogspot.com & be blessed!

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WOW! It has been forever since I updated!!!!  I really don’t know where to start…..

Jack is now 10 months old, a super fast crawling machine, that just took 2 steps yesterday.  He is into EVERYTHING!!!!  He makes the silliest faces and loves, I mean LOVES attention.  Doesn’t not comprehend the word NO although we are “reinforcing” it! :)  He literally still just eats, then sleep, eats, then sleep, eats, then bedtime and inbetween all of those EATS.  The kid is a pig!  You wouldn’t know it though he is only 33%  in his height and 44% in his weight.  He has quite the personality and I have never seen anyone RUN as fast as he can in a walker!!!

Levi is so big!!  He is now 3 yr. 3 months and thinks he is 5 going on 45.  don’t ask me…he likes those numbers at the moment.  He loves EVERYTHING about Christmas, and thinks Donald is Sinterklaas and I am Zwarte Piet (only you dutchies out there would find the humor in that) and mom, before you start laughing too hard, he thinks you are Zwarte Piet too!  Opa gets to be sinterklaas!

Donald gets to have his gallbladder removed tomorrow!  The home remedy did NOT do the trick, and so surgery is the only permanent solution.  After the attacks he had, he had no problem agreeing to it.  So tonight Levi is at Uncle Ron and Aunt Sarah’s house, having his first “spend the night” other than grandparents, and Jack will head to Uncle Alex and Aunt Rebekah’s early in the morning, so that I can be with Donald.  He is so going to milk this for all it’s worth!!!

We have our BIG 5 year anniversary this Saturday.  We will have the day to ourselves- but Donald may still be medicated so who knows if he will remember it or not

I promise to post new pictures soon until then enjoy some of these below!

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The last 3 years we have designed our own Christmas cards.  I will admit this year’s has been tough.  I just can’t seem to get “the look” I want.  Even Donald spent some time on it ( and definitely wasn’t achieving the look I was going for!)  We are finally finalizing it and sending it to print.  Who knows if you will get one before Christmas, but they are on the way.  We will just blame them being late on the slow postal services! Enjoy a few sneak peeks!

Did I mention getting a photo for the card was about as much work as designing the card?  60+ pictures later and we have about 1 half decent one.  Oh well!  

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Thanks to Brianne- I received my first $5 bonus for tell-a-friend!  As soon as all of you who have signed up make a purchase, I’ll see LOTS of $5 bonuses roll in!!!  Gotta love it!

Click here if you are missing out on cash back on purchases bought through ebates!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=gLCBTXwTGdLXALAdxMnwtQ%3D%3D

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1. Go to Ebates and sign up if you have not done so yet. It only takes a few minutes- It gives you cash back for online purchases when you shop through their website. Plus it has great deals/coupons for online shopping!

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=gLCBTXwTGdLXALAdxMnwtQ%3D%3D

2. On the right side of the page pull up store “eToys.com” or search for it in the search tool.

3. Once on eToys site, Search for Item Number: 785756 it is ONLY $29.99 with free shipping and you will also get a 2% rebate from ebates! (which ebates works- I received my first cash back after I purchased an item through ebates on Ebay!)

Levi still plays with the train set that he received on his first birthday and Jack loves chewing on it now! Great thing about the wooden train set - it is universal all the Thomas the Train stuff hooks to it, as well as any other brand!

Happy Shopping~

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I wanted to tell you about Ebates, a shopping site that gives you up to 26% Cash Back every time you shop online. You can shop at over 1000 stores including Barnes & Noble.com, Gap, Target, Buy.com and Expedia. Plus you get additional savings with exclusive coupons, free shipping offers, and limited-time sales!

Sign up with Ebates today and we’ll each get a $5 bonus when you make your first purchase!

Click here to sign up:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=gLCBTXwTGdLXALAdxMnwtQ%3D%3D

Happy shopping!

* came across this as I was trying to find all ways to be frugal.  It’s worth a try!*

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It’s the little things that bring a smile….

1. Jack standing on his own…

2. a closet FULL of diaper, wipes, & pull-ups

3. this great wedding dress I bought for $20 on Ebay for Haiti

*I know everyone is JEALOUS of this one :)*

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Levi has become quite the independent little man. (except when injured or at bedtime- then he needs his momma!) His “new” thing is wearing ties. He wants to wear one all the time, I have him convinced they are for Sunday Church not Wednesday church He also is now in a “booster” seat (thanks to Opa & Oma) I think Jack is more happy about Levi’s new seat, because that meant he got promoted to Levi’s old seat No more trying to lug a 20 pound-er around in a baby seat!

Jack is into EVERYTHING! Completely NOT following in the steps of his older brother. Jack likes to touch and find things that are not meant for a 9 month old! The little booger is FAST too! He can make it almost all the way up the stairs before I realize he is not by me (I know we need a gate- it’s high on the priority list!) He still only has 4 teeth. Which I took picture of his “fangs” the other day! Hilarious!

Jack stands up on everything and is even letting go. He decided just this week that he would rather have a bottle. I have tried to persuade him otherwise, but his mind is made up. I can’t complain - 9 months is long time.

Donald did indeed have “twin” gallstones, and after a home remedy hopefully his gallbladder is emptied.

There are some new pictures in the November album. Also, some have asked to see our house, so I put some pictures of it in the house album! ENJOY!

Categories: Donald Rush, Jack, Levi
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