Poor Abigail

Hey gang! As noted in a previous blog, it has been one thing right after the other since Abigail's birth and time for blogging is short. There are a lot of things to mention, but the thing of import at the moment is baby Abigail.

This poor girl has had a tough life so far (and she is only 10 weeks old!)- many of you know that she is currently in the hospital being treated for Infant Botulism. Botulism is a rare disease in which a particular bacteria attacks the intestines and muscles of a baby; it comes from spores found in dirt in specific places in California and Bucks County, Pennsylvania (click here to find out more). A very expensive antibiotic was flown out from Berkley California (the only place in the country where you can get it) and it is now in Abigail. We are waiting for the antibiotic to do its thing, which we hope to see signs of improvement over the next 24 hours. There is always the chance that it is not Botulism, in which case there will need to be a series of tests done to determine why she seems to be getting weaker. Please pray that it is Botulism as the symptoms of Botulism are completely reversible (it seems weird to ask prayer for our daughter to have a rare disease!).

In addition to the above situation, Abigail has been diagnosed with Metopic Craniosynostosis (click here to find out more). Basically, two of Abigail's bones in her head have "fused together prematurely" so that they cannot grow outward as the brain grows, causing her head to come to a point at the forehead. Abigail will need to have surgery in which they remove those bones and re-shape them to a normal shape; the surgery is scheduled for June 8th.

As you see, Abigail has been through a lot and has a lot more hard times ahead; we also have been through a lot of scares, disappointments and stress. However, through it all, we have felt the nearness of our Lord as He guides us and grants us peace during this difficult time. Also people are coming out of the woodwork to help us out with Jaron, providing food, going shopping, etc., which has been greatly encouraging.

Jaron also has spent his share of time in the hospital; last weekend he jumped off of a step and landed wrong and was not able to walk on his right foot. So, off we went to the emergency room for x-rays, but thankfully there were no fractures. They wrapped him up in a splint and after two days he was up and walking like nothing had happened.

See an update of our Holidays below.

Our Holidays

Backing up to November, our Thanksgiving: we spent Thanksgiving Day with my family at Dan and Geniene's and with Jeremy's family at our house that weekend (it was our first year hosting Thanksgiving!). Both times were enjoyable having family around, counting our blessings and stuffing ourselves silly.

We had a great Christmas! Busy and quite tiring, but it was nice being with family all in one place. We had our own family Christmas on Christmas Day. The next day we drove up to Amsterdam, NY to spend Christmas with the Gregsons. We had Christmas with my family on the Saturday after Christmas Day. That was a lot of fun because had the entire family together, which rarely happens. And we had two new additions to the family this year, Jarid (Tiffany's fiance) and baby Abigail. It was a little chaotic with three toddler boys running around, but I think it worked out just fine and, of course, they had a blast playing together. It was a very full, very loud household and everyone had a nice time. Sunday afternoon we drove down to Jeremy's parent’s house. That was nice too, but very different dynamics. It was a little more relaxing there, much quieter, but we were all already VERY tired and trying to keep awake while opening gifts. We had Christmas with the Riggalls on the Monday after Christmas Day. We drove home that evening. We were all very happy to be home in our own beds! When Jeremy and I got in bed, we thanked God for our wonderful home and bed!

And We're Back

Well, we're back. We're so sorry for not updating sooner. We haven't forgotten. It's just that it's been one thing after the other ever since our daughter has been born in November. We will try and update all of our news since then in the next few postings as best as possible, but for now a video.
Jaron sings! See if you can pick out the tune.

More photos

Here are a few more photos of our little princess...

Everybody loves a good baby picture...

Here are a few photos from today's event. See previous post for the story...

She's here! Hooray!

Mary and I would like to welcome little baby Abigail Kathryn Riggall to the family! She was born this morning, November 8th, at 11:11, weighing in at 7 lbs, 4 oz and 20 inches long. She is a cute little thing and is perfectly healthy. Mary is just fine, albeit tired and sore. She is recovering well and filled with joy.

Mary felt her first contraction at 5:00 am this morning; by 6:00 she was showered and I was up cooking a gourmet breakfast. By 7:30 Mary, Jaron and I were packed and in the car heading to the hospital. As we pulled into a parking spot at the emergency room, Mary's water broke and she rushed into the hospital while I collected Jaron and her bags and ran in to meet her. When I got inside, they had already taken her up to triage so by the time I found her, she was on a bed being poked and pampered and prepped by the nurses.

I was there just a few minutes before I went back out to the parking lot to give Jaron and his belongings to Geniene (Mary's sister), who had just arrived to take Jaron home with her. Back in the room with Mary, we breathed through contractions for about an hour or so until she was given an epidural. The epidural - those things are amazing - relaxed Mary quite a bit and both of us were able to get in a snooze.

Since Mary wasn't progressing quickly enough, they added some pitocin and an hour or so later Mary had the urge to push! They checked her and she was fully dialated so the doctor was called, Mary pushed for about 5 minutes (3-4 pushes) and baby Abigail was born!!

We are very thankful to our Lord for his goodness to us in this. Our Lord has blessed us immensely with this baby girl and are honored to have her as part of our family.

Thank you for those who covered us in their prayers. Pictures will be posted shortly.

-Jeremy

Trick or Treat!

On Halloween, we took Jaron out trick or treating for the first time. He was our little bumble bee that night and all night I couldn't get the song "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee..." out of my head! We didn't make it too big of a deal because obviously he can't eat candy, but he had a good time dressing up and showing off his costume to a couple neighbors and then we drove to a friends house nearby to show them. I think it may have been more fun for Jeremy and I than for him. He enjoyed it, but I don't think he quite grasped what was going on. After we put him to bed that night, Jer and I watched a Johnny Depp film "Sleepy Hollow" while eating Jaron's candy and handing out candy to other trick or treaters. Oh, and I got a foot massage by my sweet hubby. That was probably the best part of the whole evening. :)

Our next door neighbor gave Jaron a little monkey toy.

Sooo High!

This little guy loves the swing. His grin goes from cheek to cheek when he gets on the swing, as you can see...

Riggall & Son

Jeremy and Jaron always seem to have the best of times together. Jaron is just facinated with almost everything he does. Whether it be working in the yard, using his drill gun, or playing the guitar, he loves to watch and then try to take his turn. I love seeing the two of them play together. They are going to have quite a bonding time after Abigail is born. Jeremy asked Jaron the other day if he wanted to go into business with him. Who knows? Someday there might be a "Riggall & Son" business.

Work Area

I got a couple of good shots with Jaron wearing his hard hat and he happened to be wearing the perfect sweatshirt at the time. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Riggall for the hat!