Jacob turns 12!

Today

March 27, 2012

My precious angel, Jacob, turns 12!

I can NOT even believe that he is 12 years old!

How does this happen?

I blinked and now he is in adolescence.

We had no idea the ride we would take when we had our first child. The ups. The downs.

The milestones missed.

The triumphs over adversity.

We are blessed with the sweetest, most loving,

special child in the whole world!!

Jacob's Birthday Party at Morgan's Wonderland

 Jacob taking a little nap in the sand in White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Jacob went skiing at the Adaptive Ski Program at Ski Apache. Ruidoso, New Mexico

                                            

Some recent portraits in the Bluebonnets!

Some new sweet photos of Jacob

Our family went to Playa del Carmen for vacation in July. All the boys had a fabulous time swimming, snorkeling and going to the Ice Cream Bar! Here is a sweet photo of Jacob on the beach. Love how this photo really captures those LONG, blonde eyelashes!

And he has always loved looking out at the ocean...it was a beautiful evening!

The Big Boy turns 11!!!

Wow! I can't believe it! Jacob is 11 years old! We celebrated his birthday at the all-accessible Morgan's Wonderland! He had such a great time swinging, walking and just enjoying the day outside. Check out some of his photos!

February 15 Update

Jacob has had two terrific weeks feeding himself, but this week he has all but stopped. Please take a brief moment to ask God to help Jacob continue this fabulous new skill. We certainly don't want him to lose his desire to eat by himself...it has taken us so long to get here.
Thank YOU!!

Jacob is Feeding Himself!

There are some things in life that most people take advantage of.  Think about it. You have a baby. Your baby grows from the bottle, to cereal, to solid food, to finger foods, and finally to being able to use utensils to feed themselves. What if your baby was 10 years old and could never pick up food for himself? What if he had no idea how to use a spoon or fork?  This is for the most part, the case of our sweet little Angel Jacob. For the majority of the past 10 years, we have used the Magic Bullet (thank you to the inventor) to puree food for Jacob as he had trouble chewing solid food. So what would you do if Jacob ALL of a sudden decided to pick up food and feed himself?

WE ARE GOING TO SHOUT IT

FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!

After offering him cut up food for YEARS for him to basically ignore it or immediately spit it out, we continued to do so. Call it HOPE? Call it PERSERVERANCE? Jacob chose last Sunday, January 30 to begin a new journey...FEEDING HIMSELF.
I have taken short videos of him eating various things to prove that he can do it!

Please Pray the Jacob continues his desire to eat by himself.

We knew he could do it and finally, he has!!

Praise God!!

Enjoy the videos!

                                     

Jacob....World Traveler!

Jacob has been on many trips this summer and we have been so busy going from place to place and recovering from the trips that there has been no time to post photos.  But here they are!  He had a blast, was a great traveler and did everything we did as a family.

 MAUI

A catnap in the sand....yuck!

Snorkeling in the beautiful Pacific Ocean

Going down the slide at the Grand Wailea!

After Maui we spent a few days in Kerrville, Tx, a few days at North Padre Island and then Jacob got to go to CampCamp for his first every week away at camp.  He had a blast!  He spent all of July hanging out at home and then got to go to Vail, Colorado with the family.  He really enjoyed the cooler weather.  Hiking, whitewater rafting, you name it, we did it!

VAIL

At a Gold Mine in Breckenridge

Beavercreek Family Night with Dad

Beavercreek Family night with Mommy

Happy New Year!

The Homan's had a fabulous Christmas and New Year break from school and work! Two weeks off for the boys from school and Trey and I took about a week off to do some projects around the house. Jacob's room has been changed from little boy to big boy adding in his signature color "orange" in his striped wall. Jacob got a new flat screen tv so he is always able to watch his favorite Elmo and his brothers can watch other things. Jacob also go a really cool new swing that hangs from his ceiling. It is nice and cozy in the swing which is positioned to be able to see his new tv!

Jacob's seizures have started up again. We will be going to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston for an extended video monitored EEG. I will keep you posted as to when this will be. Keep Jacob in your prayers that the seizures do not worsen so much that injuries occur.

Jacob and his brothers have a new nanny, Sarah. She is doing a fabulous job so far and we are about ready to give her a big challenge by leaving her in charge for 5 days while we go to Nashville to speak at the National Convention of PPA. I am sure she will do a great job!

Jacob's New Room!

Jacob's New Swing

Jacob and his brothers...exhausted on New Years Day!

Jacob on Christmas Day with his new hat and chewies!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Here is a little video from the portraits I took of the kids this Christmas.

Jacob update 11-10-09

Sorry for neglecting my little Jacob blog. Jacob is doing much much better. We finally got the seizures under control after adding a new seizure med, Banzal. He has responded fabulously to it and the seizures are mostly gone! Praise God!
We are so thankful that Jacob has finally been approved for the Medicaid Waiver Program and has started receiving services and supplies!!!! After being on a waiting list for 6 years we have finally been approved!!
We went yesterday to get Jacob fitted for a new feeding chair, the Special Tomato. I am so excited about this chair. Check it out on www.adaptivemall.com. It is awesome and will be such a help during mealtimes.
We also were fitted for a potty chair. Yes, that is the technical term. He is doing great in his at school and now we will be able to continue striving towards potty training at home.
Also great news is that we are able to get Jacob the new Sleep Safer Bed. It will be so good for him to be in this bed to keep him safe from harm.
Therapies will hopefully begin soon and we are now receiving diapers and wipes at no charge! Imagine we have spent 9 years in diapers...I wonder how much that would add up to be? 4-5 diapers a day for 9 years....hmmm...EXPENSIVE! We feel very blessed that we are now able to have some assistance.
Thanks for all of you prayer warriors out there...you are awesome!!
Bye for now,
Elizabeth

Jacob's first week of school

Jacob had a great first week back to school. He went right in to his class and headed straight to his favorite beanbag to curl up in. It was like he never left!
Jacob's seizures have started back up again and are getting more frequent and pronounced. We visited the neurologist yesterday and he turned up the amps of his VNS and upped one of his medications. Hopefully, the seizures will subside soon.
Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Elizabeth

Mexican Caribbean Vacation

All went well in Mexico...thanks for your prayers! The whole family had a fabulous time enjoying the pools, the ocean, the buffet and the endless ice cream bar! Jacob did very well on the airplane, slept well (wearing him out during the day certainly helped) and ate very well from the all you can eat buffets. He certainly enjoyed the ice cream after every meal (as did the rest of the family). He loved floating around the pool in his little ring and really enjoyed the wave pool and lazy river. It was a much needed family bonding experience that we will all cherish for a lifetime!

Trip to Playa del Carmen

I would like to request some serious prayers as we take all 3 boys to Mexico for a family vacation. It will be the first time we have ever flown anywhere together. And the first time the boys have been out of the country. Pray that no one gets sick and that Jacob sleeps well in the hotel environment. We are very excited to all be able to go but do have reservations that Jacob will adapt well to the new situation.
I will post some photos and let everyone know how it went when we return.
Thanks!

Jacob Today June 2nd

Jacob is feeling much much better and is back to his happy self! Thanks for your prayers but keep on prayin' 'cause he is still having seizures but they have decreased a little. YEA!

Over his sickness

Poor Jacob has been super sick for the past 10 days. His fever spiked up to 104 and just wouldn't go away. Went to the doctor and he found nothing. That was Friday May 22. Couldn't stop the fever and now he added the big D, a rash on his face and lots of congestion, etc. to the mix. Went back to the doctor on Tuesday and found out he had STREP. Not strep throat, no Jacob can not do anything normal. The strep was on his face and in his sinuses! Then Mommy, Jackson and Joshua were tested positive for Strep. Only Daddy and Boo the cat escaped the misery. Luckily we caught it soon for the other 2 boys and they didn't suffer too much.

Jacob is still a little "snotty" and of course, the fever has increased his seizures.

Keep him in your prayers that the seizures decrease and that he kicks this sickness 100%!

Thanks!

Long Overdue Update

These are all of the diapers we received at Jacob's Birthday Party!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!This is Jacob at the Special Olympics Sensory Area. He enjoyed his trip! Mommy and the three boys on Easter after our Easter Egg Hunt!

Check out his cool new orange shoes.

Jacob's seizures had mostly stopped by the beginning of April. Under the direction of the Neurologist, we started weaning him off of one of his seizure meds. Unfortunately, 2 days later his seizures began again. Now, several weeks later, the seizures are still around (about 5-10 minutes apart). We went back on the med we were trying to go off of but so far no success.
For the past 4 days, Jacob has been sick with a fever from 99.5-104. That seemed to bring on even more seizures and he has been feeling so rotten that he has pretty much done nothing but sleep. Poor guy!
Please keep him in your prayers as we continue to find balance with these meds.

Pray for Jacob on the 27th!

We are praying for you, Jacob :)

Easter On the Porch

Update on Jacob!

I have great news....Jacob's seizures have really decreased. In fact it has been days since I have even seen one! We are very happy and so is he. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!
We are planning on decreasing his seizure meds beginning in May. We will meet with the neurologist on April 27 and see what he says. Please keep all of us in your prayers that God may guide us to make the best decisions for Jacob.
I will keep you up to date!
Elizabeth

I continue to pray that Jacob is doing well with his new implant. I praise God that he has blessed others with Jacob's life. He is an inspiration to us all.

Jacob's 9th Birthday!

Believe it or not, Jacob will be 9 on March 27th. Thought everyone might enjoy seeing his birthday invitation, if you haven't already seen one.