Giving Thanks!

After the past two weeks of our life, I do not think that's its purely coincidence that the USA celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this past Thursday! A good friend of mine, Angie, reminded me during the drama, that "Nothing ever takes God by surprise!" So we had so much to be thankful for and we joined with the rest of the nation in counting our blessings and bringing glory to God!

This week, we welcomed Liesel and Joshua back to our house! It was great to have access to little Josh 24 hours a day. I have changed my nightly retiring routine, to now include a check on Joshua, as well as Nathan! Also, the fact that Liesel is now heavily outnumbered by 3-1, so hopefully the males will have more say in the household in future {wishful thinking I know :)}

The week also included a lot of brotherly bonding as Nathan got to know younger brother better. He is still getting accustomed to the cries of Josh, and now has his ear muffs (used for the Cleveland Air Show) close by and dons them at the first sign of a cry!



We are also learning about Josh's little nuances. It is also reassuring watching him feed for slightly longer each time. The one week check-up at the pediatrician on Friday confirmed that he is growing well, and has already gained 7 ounces in just 3 days! He also seems to be settling into a routine nicely, only waking up once in the early hours for a feed! We are so blessed :)



As for the weekend, it was a very laid back affair. My manager and his wife who is 34 weeks pregnant with their first, paid us a visit on Friday evening. They also brought Nathan a Playmobil Fire Fighter helicopter that he absolutely loves! We also went out and bought some Christmas lights for our house and I put most of them up when the weather was above freezing and dry (the best you ask for in Cleveland at this time of year).

Then on Sunday, Liesel and Josh made their first public appearance at Church. People couldn't believe that Liesel was looking so well after being her emergency C-section! Of course, everyone loved Josh (newborns have that effect on people)! Josh's photos were also displayed on the big screens during the announcements, which was great to see!

So as you can see, the McCarthy's have so much to be thankful for, and are looking forward to another year full of God's blessing!

The first US Citizen of the McCarthy Clan -> Joshua Craig McCarthy

When Liesel and I awoke on Friday morning, we had no idea what lay ahead of us in the next 15 hours! I went to work as normal, and Liesel had an appointment with her OBGYN to check her progress after recently upping her dosage of blood pressure medication.

On Monday, Liesel was diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension, and was promptly sent to the hospital for monitoring! Her blood pressure was brought under control and she was discharged on Tuesday. So we went and bought a home Blood Pressure monitor and started measuring Liesel's blood pressure.
On Wednesday night - it got dangerously high so we called the Dr and she told us to go straight back to hospital. Nathan got picked up by a friend of ours and he spent the night with them. At the hospital, Liesel was given some medication intravenously and that seemed to stabilize the BP so after testing her BP every 5 mins they thought it was safe to discharge her at 1:30am.
Then on Friday she went for a regular checkup and her BP seemed normal at the Dr's office. Then a bit later her doctor phoned and said that she had spoken to the High Risk Pregnancy doctor and they were both not happy that she was in the hospital again this past Wednesday, so they ordered her back to hospital to be monitored. So I checked her in and spent a couple of hours with her and her BP seemed good and we didn't really know why they admitted her again. I left and took Nathan home to make supper and shortly afterwards got a call from Lee saying that her BP has shot up and is 160/100 and they have found traces of protein in the urine now - so her Dr wants to get the baby out tonight (4 weeks early). So Nath and I packed his bag (a friend would be picking him up from the hospital) and we drove in one of the worst snow storms of the season so far to the hospital - doing about 20 mph the whole way. (Amazing how Mother Nature times these things!) Anyway, we made it there safely and soon after Nath was picked up - I put on my scrubs and went into the OR. This time the OR experience was far more enjoyable for me, as I had been there before and my nerves weren't frayed. Also I knew what to expect and could savor the moments, rather than being filled with anxiety and unsure of what was to come! One of the best sounds I have heard was when little Joshua, barely out of his mother's belly, let out a hearty cry! We were concerned that a 4 week premature baby's lungs might not be fully developed, but that cry proved that this was not the case! Once he was out and lying in the bassinet, I had the fantastic privilege of trimming the umbilical cord! His APGAR scores were 9/10, 9/10 - so we are hoping that the rest of the scores he gets through life will be this good and better!

Even though Joshua is 4 weeks premature, he tipped the scale at 6lbs 6oz, 18 inches long, and he hasn't needed to go to any special care or ICU. Each night he has stayed in the nursery with all the other newborn babies! Praise God!

With Joshua out of Liesel's womb, her blood pressure is down and close to normal, and she seems to be out of the woods now too. We are just both trying to catch up on some sleep, before Liesel and Joshua return home in a few days time, to start a whole new chapter in our lives!

So as you can see, this was totally unexpected and but every turned out perfectly.

Nathan has taken an immediate liking to his baby brother and loves every minute together. Nathan has such a caring nature and it shows as he sings to Joshua when Joshua is crying, while gently caressing his soft brown hair! There is already a beautiful bond between these two brothers and I cannot wait to see how it will develop and strengthen over the years!

So there you have it, from high blood pressure to a beautiful baby boy in 5 short days! God is amazing and his timing is always perfect! We thank Him for our incredible gift!!

I want to apologize to anyone who has recently sent me an e-mail, or written on my Facebook wall, as I have not yet had the time this past week to respond. I will do my best to get to them! Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and well wishes! It means a lot to us :)

First flakes and flu symptoms!

This weekend was rather uneventful, but it was intended to be... Let me explain: Last week, Nathan contracted pink eye, and had to be taken to the Dr to get eye drops for it. Thankfully, two days later, the pinkness had dissipated, returning his eyes to their natural color! Unfortunately, this week a second trip to the Doctor's office had to be made. This time he was treated for an ear infection :( But that is not where it ends, as Liesel seemed to have been touched by the sinusitis bug. Her OB/GYN prescribed some over the counter medication for her, but this in turn elevated her blood pressure! She paid a visit to our GP, who diagnosed the blood pressure issue and prescribed some antibiotics to deal the the sinusitis. So that sounds pretty miserable..... but wait, there's more! It was Friday night, when my wife discovered she had pinkeye over and above everything else that her heavily pregnant body was going through!

So I made it clear that Liesel needed to be on bed rest this weekend - which in my opinion would be the best method to kick start the recovery process. I did my best to entertain Nathan. One of the things on my to-do list was to fertilize the lawn, which I could include Nathan in. Also, knowing what weather lay ahead of us - a week of snow - it was the best opportunity to do that at that moment - despite the drizzle. Of course, Nathan saw it as an adventure after suiting up in his Wellington's and rain coat and together we braved the precipitation and spent some quality time in the puddles and on the swing!

That evening - after Nathan had drifted off, Liesel and I lay back and watched Get Smart. If the saying "laughter is the best medicine", then Liesel and I should be cured of every possible ailment! It was 'just what the Doctor ordered' - a lazy evening filled with laughter!

On Sunday morning, the season's first snow flakes started drifting to ward the ground. The air and ground temperature was still above freezing, so the flakes melted on contact with the ground. That meant that my snow thrower will not be used for a while still :( Liesel was still under my order of bed rest, so Nathan and I went to church without her. The afternoon consisted of a round of Wii Sports competitions between the boys. And that is how much of the weekend went.

On Monday, November 17, 2008 - Liesel and I will have been married for 7 blessed years. I want to thank her for completing me, and supporting me over the years. She is the main reason that our transition to the United States was as smooth as it was! She has made sure that I lacked nothing, at the same time as raising a smart and well-mannered son! She is simply : AMAZING! Happy Anniversary my love! Thank you everything that you have done for me and our family! I love you!!

"Camp-outs" and fellow countryman!

After seeing his favorite cartoon family enjoying a camp-out around the fireplace in their living room, Nathan has mentioned that he would love to do that too. So on Saturday evening, I brought the mattress from the bunk bed downstairs and put it in the playroom in front of the fireplace. We put a log in the fireplace and got our first ever fire in our house going in no time! Nathan was totally captivated by the fire, as it's flames licked the cool air and radiated its warmth! Liesel and I read him a few bed time stories, but we do not think he heard anything besides the crackle of the burning log. After story-time, Nathan basked in the glow of the fire for a bit before losing the fight to his heavy eyelids.

A few hours later, Liesel retired to the bed next to Nathan. Forty-five minutes later she re-appeared. Nathan is not a peaceful sleeper by any stretch of the imagination! He tosses, turns, snores and on occasion grinds his little teeth. With this combination, sleeping in the same room as Nathan will be a challenge, let alone in the bed next to him. So Liesel took her pillows and duvet and returned to the comfort of the master suite. Finally, it was my turn to hit the bed. After the first five minutes, I realized that Liesel had made a very wise decision in moving upstairs. But I stuck it out, and even though it felt like I was awakened every 30 minutes, I made it through the night. The important thing was that Nathan had a great night's sleep and wanted to camp out in the playroom again. Hmmmmm - maybe next year!

On Sunday morning, as the winter season came upon us, I had to be at the church at 7:30am! We had a good service and worship sets and was home again by 1pm. After the thrill of the previous night's fire, Nathan and Liesel wanted another fire, so I obliged and started up another one in the fireplace. You can actually feel the difference in temperature as you come downstairs and into the playroom! It was not long afterwards when we left to have supper at the Astifan's. They had invited another couple to their house, who have something in common with us. The wife, Shirley grew up in Pretoria, South Africa!! It was there where she met her husband, who was a US Marine on assignment at the US Embassy in Pretoria. They fell in love, got married in South Africa and then moved back to the USA, where they had their son, and moved to Cleveland! It was wonderful speaking to them and hearing the South African accent again!

Candy Comas and Sibling Celebrations

As can be seen in the video clip below, Halloween has descended upon us. Nathan's Preschool had a Halloween party and parade for the children on Thursday morning. It was very well organized with them requesting that parents refrain from dressing the children in any scary outfits (such as corpses etc). No masks and no weapons were allowed either! This way the children could enjoy dressing up without being exposed to the darker side associated with this event. Nathan had an absolute ball which can clearly been seen in the video below!

On Friday, it was time to hit the neighborhood sidewalks in search of candy for the first time ever! Nathan and I headed down our street at the allotted time, and I must say that Nathan fared very well! We only visited about one eighth of the houses in our development until we turned back home. It seemed that Nathan had more fun handing out the candy to our fiendish visitors! Unfortunately, he was only handing out one piece of candy to each child when we had budgeted for about 3 to 4 pieces per person. This left us with a surplus of candy (come to think of it, perhaps Nathan knew what he was doing!)


On Saturday, we took Nathan to the hospital that Liesel will be delivering his brother. They had a special course for big brothers and sisters, called Sibling Celebration. The instructor was a nurse, who works in the postpartum section of the hospital. She read the group of about 10 children a story, and showed them a video before demonstrating how to hold a new born baby on some life-like dolls. The children seemed to learn a lot and then the highlight was when the nurse took them to see a brand new baby girl born earlier that day. She made the children stand around the baby and got them all to sing "Happy Birthday" to her! It was sweet and Nathan thoroughly enjoyed himself. The fact that they gave the children cookies and chocolate milk only reinforced the positive mood of the group! At the end of the hour long "course" Nathan received his certificate indicating that he is a suitable qualified BIG BROTHER!

On Sunday afternoon - it was a beautiful Fall day, so we decided to put Nathan's bike in the trunk and drove to the Westlake Recreation Center. There is a lovely tarred cycling/walking/running track meandering through a tree-lined park. Nathan's confidence in bike-riding has grown immensely and soon he was almost out of sight as his little legs propelled him down the path! Today was also the first day after we have changed back to Eastern Standard time. This means that all our clocks were turned back an hour - which translates into sunsets around 6pm now compared to sunsets at 7pm on Friday and Saturday..... So as the sun drifted toward the horizon -- the temperature began to fall and that signalled that it was time to head home!

Nathan's Preschool Halloween Parade

Nathan's Preschool held a Halloween parade for the children and gave them the opportunity to sing a couple of songs for the parents! Here is Nathan the Dinosaur bellowing at maximum volume to ensure mom can hear him!