As you can see.....

we've been busy around here. Soon I'll write a post answering your questions about our plans for returning home to Mexico and such.
But for now, there's a baby to kiss/hug/snuggle/stare at/hold/love/touch/smell.

Caught in the Rain

Yesterday we spent much of the morning/early afternoon doing various errands. We took Samuel to his pediatric appt. (6 lbs 14 oz!!), picked up our mail, attempted (unsuccessfully) to get Samuel to open his eyes for a passport picture, and did a few other things.
After being in the car so long, we thought it would be fun to take the children for a walk down the trail to the Sundial Bridge. So with 3 stollers and an Ergo baby carrier, we began our family walk. It was a beautiful day, partly sunny, a bit breezy, and the children had so much fun hiking down to the bridge. But by the time we got there, the blue sky was grey and it was staring to sprinkle. The droplets began to grow bigger and we ran for cover under a canopy.
We waited out the worst of it there before making our way back up the trail. While Samuel stayed completely safe, warm, and dry in his covered carseat/stroller, the rest of us...well, as Timothy put it, "Hey, we just got our shower for the day!" :)
Eliseo was in one of the umbrella stollers and as the rain fell and he started to get wet he began to cry. I wrapped him in a blanket and Daniel scooped him up in his arms and carried him, protecting him from most of the rain, for the remainder of the hike.
As we approached the top of the hill, Daniel said, "This reminds me of what the Lord does for us. Trials, just like this rain, come...often unexpectedly. And just like we had no choice but to walk through this rain to get home, we have to go through trials as well. But like Eliseo who cried out as the water fell and within moments found himself safe and warm in my arms, the Lord carries us through. We are weak, but He is strong and so loving...how He cares for us!"
Thank you Lord for carrying us through the rain.

After 55 days in the hospital....

...11 inside of mommy and 44 in the NICU, our little Samuel Thomas Lockwood came home! How we have missed him! How much we love him!
Thank you Lord for bringing our family together again...thank you for our little Samuel.




...

Three days down....

...two to go.

Samuel has gone 3 full days without any apeneas or bradys...
Keep it up little guy and you'll be home Saturday night!!!


Happy 6 week birthday to my littlest man today! :)

Our little girl is 10 years old!

Today we celebrated Rebekah's 10th Birthday. We had a rough weekend; after spending much of Saturday in the ER with Elijah, several of the children came down with the stomach flu on Sunday. I was so thankful that the Lord kept Beka from being sick (so far) so she could enjoy her special day.
Daniel had a lot of office work he needed to get done and most of the children were lying around resting/recovering. So I was so excited to be able to take Rebekah out for the afternoon like I'd planned. What a wonderful time we had! She said it was the best afternoon ever and thanked me and hugged me; but I tell you, she was the one who made it so much fun. I love being with Rebekah. The smallest things bring her so much excitement and joy. Her fun, joyful and loving spirit is contagious and she always brightens my day.
We first went up to the NICU to visit Samuel. Beka certainly has a built in mothering touch and a love for all babies and little children. She was hoping so much that Samuel would be home for her birthday, and when she heard that it will still be a while (he still is having problems with his heartrate/apnea), she wanted to postpone her birthday meal/cake until we could ALL be together. So that is just what we'll do :)
After the hospital, we went out to lunch where she ordered a chicken/cranberry sandwich, yogurt with fruit/granola, and a smoothie for us to share. It was delicious and the time spent talking even sweeter.
Finally, we went shopping for her birthday. She picked out a purse (with some fun thigns to fill it), some pink flip-flops, a kit to make bracelets and one to weave potholders, and a camera.
She opened her gifts tonight and then we went around the room with each person sharing special things about Rebekah.
Rebekah is a servant...she see's needs and meets them often often without being asked. She loves to take care of little children and is so creative in her play. She has about as much energy as our other 11 combined and while we are often telling her to slow/calm down, I am grateful for the way she puts her whole heart into most everything she does.
Thank you Lord for giving us Rebekah...she is so sweet, sensitive, and caring.

Another trip to the ER

Between Samuel being born premature, Daniel/Joel's accident, and my pregnancy complications, we've been in the hospital for the past 7 weeks. So everything was very familiar as we took Elijah (age 11) into the ER late this morning.
It was a beautiful day and Daniel was doing some yard work outside while the children and I helped/played along side. Timothy came up to me and said that Elijah had gone inside the house crying but he didn't know what was wrong with him. Isaiah told me that Elijah and some of the others were playing in some cardboard boxes in the garage when Elijah's box got pushed over and he'd bumped his head.
I called Elijah out to me and while he was crying and said he'd hurt his head, he appeared to be okay and after some hugs and an apology from the one who'd knocked him over everyone went back to work/play.
Our neighbor came over to visit for a few minutes and then I went inside to pump for Samuel. Afterwards, I went to the laundry room and heard some moans from the boys room. Elijah was on the bed moaning/crying and mostly asleep. It was hard to wake him and when I asked him what was wrong he said his head hurt really bad. I asked him if it was from his fall and he said, "What fall?"
He didn't remember anything about that day at all and was looking pale, was very lethargic, in great pain, and getting nauseous.
We knew we needed to get him to a doctor. Daniel's brother Joel (the one who was in the accident with Daniel) and his wife and family drove up at that moment as Deb and the children were going to visit while Daniel went with Joel to work on a project.
So they stayed with the children while Daniel and I took Elijah to the walk in clinic right down the road. The doctor looked at him and told us to take him right to the ER.
We got to the ER and Elijah started to throw up. We were thankful they took him right in and within 15 minutes they took him to get a CT of his head. We spend the next several minutes listening to Elijah's moans and praying with him and for him.
The doctor came in and said the scans looked good...no fractures or bleeds that they could see. He just has a bad concussion. We again thanked the Lord for His care and after giving Elijah some more nausea meds and pain med they sent us home.
So when you pray for our family, could you please pray for Elijah especially.
How thankful I am that our loving Lord is ever near and always hears.

Little Samuel is 5 weeks old today!

We were hoping our little Samuel would be coming home this week, but the Lord just must want us to wait a bit longer. He's doing well, but still has a couple of issues. The biggest one is the bradys he continues to have (sudden drop in heart rate). These are normal for preemies, and Samuel was doing much better with them. But then he started to have more. If he is able to self resolve (the heart rate goes back up without any stimulation from the nurses...rubbing the back, turning him ect...) or they happen during a feeding, they don't really "count" those. But Samuel's been having them when he's sleeping and he's required some stimulation to get his heart rate back up. The nurse today told me that the earliest discharge date would now be the middle of next week.
Monday, they checked his blood and his hemoglobin was low (in the 8's). The doctor told me that possibly that could be the reason for the increase in the bradys. So they gave him 3 days worth of a special medicine to hopefully help his body prodoce those red blood cells and they'll recheck his blood tomorrow. If his numbers are still low, they'll talk about a blood transfusion. We are praying that the medicine will help his body do what it needs to and there will be no need for a transfusion.
We are very excited to report that our youngest little Lockwood is truly related to the rest of his siblings...he loves to eat! He started nursing today and is up to...are you ready for this....6 lbs!!!
Thank you so much for praying for him. I tell him all the time how much he is loved and prayed for...and sometimes, he smiles :)
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Here are the latest pics of our "big" little boy:
Biggest Brother/ Littlest Brother :)

Biggest Sister Rebekah

"Sammy's little Lamby" :)

After visiting Samuel, we took the children to the park down by the river.

Anywhere we go as a family, we have the children walk in a line so we don't "block traffic". Daddy leads and mommy is at the tail end to make sure nobody gets lost.

They have these big windows so you can see under part of the river. The children hope to someday see a fish.

I agree, Eliseo...Daddy is much more interesting to look at than a fish :)

Nehemiah stood there the whole time and said, "Peesh!" (fish)

We walked down the trail to the Sacramento River

While the older ones ran around looking for squirrels, the little ones played at the playground.

I love these next two shots :)

Eliseo is now 1 !

Our Little Eliseo with the big blue eyes is now a year old! Saturday was his birthday and what a fun day we had! We spent the morning baking coffee cake and putting together an egg casserole for breakfast our church's sunrise service Easter morning. We also boiled eggs to dye and made resurrection cookies as we read and talked about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Saturday we had one of Eliseo's favorite meals....Mac n Cheese...along with a homemade cake for supper.
How thankful I am the Lord gave us Eliseo. Every child we have is so special and unique! I remember about 11 years ago, I was sitting in a rocking chair in our living room holding Timothy, our one and only little one at the time. I was 8 months pregnant with Elijah and as I held Timothy, I started crying. Here I was about to have another baby and I just couldn't imagine loving a child as much as I loved Timothy.
And I still remember when they first put Elijah in my arms after his birth. I remember holding my new baby, looking at his face, and I clearly remember thinking, "Oh, I get it!" A mother's love isn't divided between her children...it is multiplied over and over again!
Eliseo is just the sweetest little thing. He's so easy going and all smiles!
While all of our children have a nick name, Eliseo kind of has the opposite. I've made up a song for each of our children and Eliseo's song is "Little Eliseo with the big blue eyes...". And that is just what he gets called.
I had Susannah up visiting Samuel with me in the NICU the other day. One of the nurses asked her if she liked her new baby brother to which she replied, "Yes, I have 2 babies now". The nurse asked her what her other baby's name was and she said, "Little Eliseo with the big blue eyes". :)

Samuel is doing super! All his buddies in the NICU (the ones born the same time he was) have gone home now, so his nurse gave Samuel a pep talk yesterday. :) Lord willing, he could be home as early as this week! I can't believe we could be going back home soon! How we've missed home!

Prayer for Joel

UPDATE: After spending all day and much of the evening in the ER, and an MRI and MRA, Joel was released to go home last night. A vertebrae in his neck and several in his back suffered fractures, but thankfully they were not severe and they sent him home in a back/neck brace which he must wear for a couple of months hopefully allowing his bones to heal and protecting him from further injury.
We were privileged to watch 5 of their 6 children yesterday. It was so fun! :) During evening devotions, Daniel pulled out his guitar and I tell you...16 children singing from their hearts...what a sweet sound! Thank you so much for your prayers!

Daniel's brother Joel just called. He got the results of a CT scan. His neck and back are fractured in several places. He's on the way to the emergency room right now, so please pray for him! We'll keep you updated as we know more.

The Lord is so good! I'm working on writing out the details of the accident and how evident the hand of the Lord was through it all and how He has worked in my heart so much this month. Daniel woke me up Sunday morning, the day after he and Joel got home, and said, "Honey, it's been a wonderful week. Although it's been hard, anything that draws us closer to the Lord is wonderful." How true that is!

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Little Samuel is growing like.....a weed?...nah....he's growing like a Lockwood! :) Yesterday, he weighed in at 5 lbs 3 oz...he's huge! ;) We are praying that he will learn to eat like a Lockwood too. He isn't too excited about eating anything through his mouth and tuckers out quickly. He prefers it through his nose tube. Once he learns to eat well through his mouth and once he outgrows those "bradys" (sudden declines in his heartrate), he can come home.
It is hard to believe he'll be a month old on Sunday. And Eliseo will turn 1 year old on Saturday. So much to celebrate! Thank you Lord!

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Timothy was very concerned that I immediately update his age on the blog side bar this morning...today he is officially 12 and A HALF. When people ask him how old he is, he likes to reply, "Next year I'll be 14". It always confuses me when he says that because he's only 12.

At breakfast this morning, I was again telling the children why we gave them the names we did.
Timothy- "He who honors God"/ Daniel- Daddy's name
Elijah- "Jehovavh is God" / Douglas- Grandpa Lockwood's name
Rebekah- "Yoke or Loyal" Grandma Smith's name / Sandra- Grandma Lockwood's name
Benjamin- "Son of my right hand" / Randall- Grandpa Smith's name
Abigail- "My father's joy" / Marie- Great grandma Lockwood's middle name
Isaiah- "Salvation of the Lord" / Robert- Great grandpa Lockwood's middle name
Josiah- "Jehovah heals" (born 2 days after we found out Timothy's tumor was gone)/
Wesley- After the great man of God John Wesley
Noah- "Rest" / Hancock- Named after my "adopted" Grandma and Grandpa Hancock
Susannah- "Lily" / Evelyn- Great Grandma Smith's middle name
Nehemiah- "Comforter" / Emmanuel- "God with Us" because Nehemiah was born at
Christmas during a very lonely time for us
Eliseo- "God is my salvation" / Edward- named after Daniel's best friend who died at
the age of 29
Samuel- "God has heard" / Thomas- named after Daniel's Uncle Tom

Of course, my children's next question was, "When we have another baby, can we name him or her ..........? :)

Thank you for praying...Joel and Deborah appreciate it so much too.

When I look at these pictures...

...and then look across the room to see a little 2 year old boy sleeping next to his Daddy...
Or think of seeing my husband walk into that airport and put his arms around me...
And know that there are 2 men at home right now with their wives and little ones...
Knowing that there are 18 children who still have their daddies...
My heart is overwhelmed with gratefulness...oh how I praise and thank the Lord.

Thank you for praying us through this time. Praise the Lord with us. Hold your loved ones closer today. Remember the brevity of our life here on earth. And if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord...if you are unsure where you would spend eternity...we would love to introduce you to Him. He is so good!