Happy Saturday!

So, it's Saturday. The older I get, the more I have come to love Saturdays. I have officially given myself permission to stay in bed as long as I want to on Sat. mornings. It's the only day I get to sleep in anymore and I am going to enjoy it! This morning I got up at 10:15. I sat out on the porch in the sun and talked on the phone with parents and then a friend for a little while. It's so good to not rush into any "to-do" list! Although, I have made my to-do list for the weekend and I'm going to try and tackle some of it this afternoon. A few projects around the house and some cleaning to do.

It's another beautiful fall day outside today. I think I'll also enjoy some time on the porch swing with my book. I'm currently reading "Devil in the White City". It's taking me a while to get into it, but I think it's going to be really good.

I'm going to book my flight to San Diego today to go see my sister, brother-in-law, and my nephew in October. I can't wait to see that little man again!! Check out their website for an adorable video of him. (Link is to the right) I've watched it like 5 times already. I'm obsessed with him...but that's what aunts are for right? :)

Have a great weekend!!

No More Breathing Tube!!!

Yay!! Finn got his breathing tube out tonight. I am so proud of him. He has been such a fighter in his 2 and 1/2 weeks of life so far. I know he still has battles ahead of him, but today we celebrate a small victory. Please pray with me that he would continue to be able to breathe on his own and never go back on the ventilator.

I made him some new flair for his bed tonight! He is going to be the most decked out baby in that NICU if I have anything to say about it. My heart is bursting with love and pride for him tonight. :)

Update on Finn - prayer request

Hi friends. Finn has been doing pretty well the last couple of days, but has had a set back today. He is struggling to keep his lungs healthy. He's got some pretty serious issues that came up just in the past 24 hours. They are starting him on a new medication that is considered a "magic pill" but it has some side effects - the scariest of which is increased risk of cerebral palsy. They are starting him on it today and it is a 9 day treatment. We should see results almost immediately but we won't know if he has any side effects until he's home and begins developing motor skills. Please pray that the drug would have absolutely NO side effect on Finn. Our God is a God of miracles and I know he hears our prayers. "My God will certainly hear me" Micah 7:7, NLT

Thanks for being caring friends and joining me in prayer.

xoxo,
aunt jane

this is my favorite picture of him recently. He looks so cozy! Man, my heart is so full of love for him!

Labor Day in Chicago

In all that's been going on lately with my family I didn't get to blog about my Labor Day weekend in Chicago. I went up to visit my sister Amy and my friends the White's who just moved there from Branson. It was such a great weekend. Perfect weather to enjoy the windy city! Amy and I were good old fashion tourists at Navy Pier on Sunday. We also took a historical boat tour of the city. We learned all kinds of things about the city of Chicago. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Amy and I at Navy Pier
Chicago skyline from the tour boat
View from the top of the ferris wheel
I love Chicago!
Hayden White and I. Could he be any more kissable?!
My crazy Lillyanne! The most fun girl in the city of Chicago! :)

Jackson is with Jesus now

From my brother-in-law, posted on their website http://releasingthetwins.com

It was the best 8 days of our lives

September 11th, 2008

It’s with a terrible pain in my heart that I’m writing this but it hurts too much to say it out loud to each of you. Our son, Jackson Armando Santoro passed away this morning at 11:49am. We are not sure the exact cause yet, but whatever it was it caused his heart to stop beating, and there was nothing the doctors could do to make it beat again. We’re so happy that we got to spend some time with him this morning - we changed his diaper, took his temperature, and sat with him for a while. His vitals had been up and down the past 24 hours but he seemed like he was fighting it off and would be fine. We left with the nurses to walk Finn over to children’s hospital for his surgery this morning - but when we returned Jackson was struggling and he quickly got worse from there. Anne and I were both with him when he passed.

He changed our lives so much in the 8 days he was with us and we’ll never be the same without him. God blessed us with his brother Finn, who’s recovering well from his successful surgery this afternoon. We love you all, but please try not to call us for a few days as it’s too upsetting to talk about.

It was the best 8 days of our lives.

We will always love you Jackson. -Mom and Dad

Pray for Finn

Hi friends. We have been waiting and hoping that Finn's little valve on his heart would close like it's supposed to. Jackson's closed in the last day or so, but Finn has been a little more stubborn. He's had about 2 rounds of medicine to try and make it close, but that hasn't done the trick yet. So, tomorrow he will have a little surgery to close it. Please pray that the surgery would go well and that he would recovery quickly.

Thanks for your friendship. I'll give you an update when I have one.

jane

new design for new season

I don't know if it's technically fall yet, but I can't wait! I LOVE the fall. It's definitely my favorite season. The clean crisp feeling in the air, the colors, the holidays, oh the list could go on and on.

:)

home again

Well, I'm back home from my long weekend in San Diego with the Santoro boys! They are so handsome and I'm totally in love. Everyone is doing well right now. I'm overwhelmed at God's faithfulness this week. He showed up in an unbelievable (but not uncharacteristic) way. Here are some pictures from my trip.

Anne with Finn
Jackson - he's always got that tongue out! :)
Amy and I having "touch time" with Finn
Amy and I getting a little relaxing time at the resort

I'm here

Well, I made it to San Diego! Saw the twins this morning. They are two handsome dudes! See my sister and brother-in-laws blog for updates and pictures. http://releasingthetwins.com. It's too much to try and tell you everything that is going on, but I will try to keep prayer requests updated here. Today both boys will have a head scan that is really important. It will tell us if they have any bleeding on their brain. Please pray that both scans would come back completely clear. Hopefully we will have the results tomorrow. Also please pray for Anne and Noah as they are obviously nervous and scared. Our God is the God who heals. He is faithful and good and I trust Him to take care of the boys!

Thanks for your faithfullness in friendship and prayer.

xoxo,
aunt jane

Ready or not...the twins are here!

So after a very scary night, my twin newphews have arrived! They are 3 months pre-mature but doing great. Anne had a c-section last night at about 7:30pm pacific time. With me in Branson, my mom in Des Moines, dad in Minneapolis on business, and Amy in San Diego with Anne and Noah it was a three ring circus of phone calls all night long!

Jackson Armando and Finn Harrison Santoro were born September 3, 2008. They weigh 1.5 oz and 1.8 oz and I'm told are about the size of a business envelope. That's pretty small! :) Both are currently on ventilators, but Jackson may even come off of his today. He may be small, but he's a tough guy already. Finn needs a little more help from the ventilator, but I'm sure he will follow suit and be breathing on his own soon.

I'm leaving for San Diego tomorrow evening. I can't wait to see them! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them and try to keep updating here as I know more.

Praise God for being so faithful and good! Thanks to all of you that were praying with me last night. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

- aunt jane :)