Moody Missionaries

Nana and Poppa just returned from serving as mission presidents in the Baltimore Maryland mission! Poppa hasn't seen Caleb for 3 years! They came to visit this week, and we have loved being with them again! They even brought Caleb some special surprises!
When they were set apart for their mission, I had the sweet feeling that Caleb would still be with us when they returned. I know that Caleb has received some special blessings as a result of their faithful service. Thank you Mom and Dad Moody for your example and love!

Don't look now!!!

No wonder Caleb kept one eye closed!
YIKES!

The Zoo with You!

Caleb went to the ZOO for the first time today! It is so sweet to go on a family outing all together ! I hope I won't ever take that for granted.

Dear Caleb,
I'm so tickled you were able to visit the zoo today. You are such a sweet little monkey!
Love,
Mom

Brotherly love

There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother. ~Astrid Alauda

Matthew always finds a few minutes each day to be with Caleb. When I happen to peek in on those moments, it truly is a sacred glimpse. Matthew will gently put Caleb's arms around his neck so that he can feel a hug from him. Caleb lights just lights up!
I know one day Caleb will run to Matthew, wrap him in a Celestial embrace and thank him for being such a special brother.

O2

Guess who hasn't needed oxygen for 5 whole days...........!!!
You guessed it... SUPER Caleb!
I love you, my sweet boy!
Love,
Mom

Caleb's wheels!

For Caleb's birthday in January we were surprised with an incredibly generous gift from anonymous family and friends.... we used it to purchase Caleb a new stroller made especially for kids like him! It arrived in the mail on Monday and I love it! If you'd like to read about all of the snazzy features click here!It is PERFECT for Caleb AND I can actually lift it, AND it actually folds to a manageable size, AND it even fits in the car! I am so excited! Thank you to our dear family and friends....we are truly thankful, incredibly humbled and completely tickled!

We decided to break in Caleb's new ride at Bridal Veil Falls

My sweet little buddy

Caleb and I walked up the path while the other boys hiked on the mountain side...

Caleb loves his snazzy new stroller!

We loved the Heavenly surroundings of the mountains, and we loved being able to take our Wink from Heaven with us!

My home run boy...

Caleb came with us to watch a base ball game for Family Home Evening!
He sat through a few innings in his stroller,

But he wanted to get out so he could see all the action!


We love our home run boy!

Sickly

For the past 18 months Caleb has battled one illness after another. A few days ago I was rocking him, and I was praying about how I could help him be more comfortable. I started to wonder if I just needed to accept that Caleb is sickly child. I wondered if I was just in denial every time I hope for the current illness to be the last one for a while. But as I thought about it, I realized I'm not in denial. I will never see Caleb as a sickly child because I know him, and he is anything but sickly. Caleb doesn't let his physical limitations impede his ability to be true to his mission on the earth. I will always continue to hope for better health, but I know that Caleb isn't broken, sickly or compromised. He is Caleb.

Dear Caleb,
Thank you for allowing me to take care of your sweet little body. Thank you for touching me with your light, even when you don't feel well. I hope that when my body doesn't always cooperate with me, that my spirit will continue to shine the way that yours does. Thank you for showing me who you are.
Love,
Mom

The great blow-out disaster!

(This one's for you, uncle Jacob) and any of the rest of you that don't mind a good p**p story!

As previously noted, Caleb was diagnosed with a bladder infection and so we immediately put him on an antibiotic. When we start Caleb on antibiotics, we also have to be prepared for some turbo powered diarrhea! Being the planner that I am, I tried to help Caleb have a bowel movement 2 hours before our trip to Primary Children's hospital, but had no results...nothing...nada...ZIP. So, when the time came we got every one packed in the car and headed to Salt Lake. After a few minutes we passed a couple of dead raccoons on the road. "Boy those Raccoons really stink" I said. Then after thinking about it, Dallan and I looked at each other and said "Or what if it's Caleb..." We stopped at our pharmacy's drive up window to grab some of Caleb's medications, and decided to do a quick check on Caleb. Dallan reached into his car seat and when he inched Caleb up to check down yonder, he found his hands in huge puddle! He picked Caleb up under his armpits to bring him to the back of the van for changing, and I was immediately hysterical! "DRIPPING! DRIPPING!" I shriek with laughter....(Dealing with bodily fluids isn't Dallan's favorite past time) Dallan runs to the back of the van while Caleb is dripping in huge amounts from both legs. I followed the trail of poopy puddles on the pavement and prepared to change him. Our entire cargo area looked like an atomic poop bomb went off. We used an entire package of wipes to clean Caleb the best we could, put a couple of burp cloths in his car seat so he could get back in, and gave a friendly wave to the woman waiting behind us to get her prescriptions from the window...
I called the hospital to explain why were were going to be late because there was no way they wanted to meet Caleb in that condition...don't worry, the receptionist couldn't stop laughing either.
Anyone want to detail my car for me? Please....pretty please...?

Dear Caleb,
Thank you for being patient with us today!
I love you
mom

Doctor, Doctor...

Monday: A trip to Northwest orthotics so Caleb's legs and ankles could be casted for ankle/leg braces. Hopefully these braces will improve his range of motion in his ankles.

Tuesday: A trip to the pediatrician because I thought Caleb had a bladder infection. I was able to get my own sample so they wouldn't have to use a catheter, and sure enough, he does have an infection. Hopefully now that we have antibiotics, he'll finally start to feel better!

Tuesday: A trip to the hospital to have blood work done! At one point the needle slipped out and blood squirted everywhere. One of my boys thought it was "SO COOL" and the other just about fainted!

Wednesday: A trip to Primary Children's Hospital to have an emptying study. They put barium into Caleb's tummy and put him in an xray type machine. The machine took pictures every 30 seconds for an hour to see how Caleb's tummy is emptying.

Freedom and Family

Caleb had a great 4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He didn't even get scared of the fireworks! Being on Daddy's lap makes him feel very brave! Freedom and Family...two great reasons to celebrate!

Let Freedom ring!

EYE Spy!

Matthew made a great I Spy page for an art project that included lots of googly eyes. The eyes were mysteriously missing the next day. When he asked Mitchell if he took them off, Mitchell replied, "they were for Caleb."

Dallan couldn't resist...

Glimpses

Caleb's smiles are a glimpse of his shining spirit!

A glimpse of Matthew loving his buddy.

My precious boy

My favorite pal

My Daddy is my favorite pal
And he helps me every day
It's plain to see I want to be
Like him in every way...

Dear Daddy
Thank you for being my hero. You have given me your heart, and that is the greatest gift of all. I love you. Happy Father's day
Love,
Caleb.

Hope

A few days ago
after a heavy storm
I opened Caleb's window so he could smell the rain.
I thought I'd try turning his oxygen off.
I wasn't sure how his body would respond
He has needed oxygen for over a year.
I stepped outside
to take a deep breath
and was greated by a rainbow!
I returned to Caleb's room.
His machines were still and quiet.
I unhooked his feeding and held him
without any tubing attached
for the first time
in a long time.
I cried.
I waited for his alarms to sound.
they never did.
He remained off oxygen
for the rest of the day.
Storms pass.
Hope arrives.
And the smell of rain
lingers to remind us
there are miracles in the air.


We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will "work together for [our] good" as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair (Uctdorf, Ensign, November 2008).

Tummy trouble

Last week Caleb caught the stomach flu. My other boys had been sick, and I was crossing my fingers that Caleb would avoid it- but he didn't want to be left out. Now, because Caleb had the nissin surgery, he can't throw up. So my poor little boy was so sad and uncomfortable.
During this illness, he had a lot of seizure breakthrough. He would hold his body so rigid, that his arms and legs would turn blue! He would kick his legs and become so upset that he would turn bright red and just drip with perspiration. His seizure threshold seemed to be really out of balance.
Though his sweet little body was quite challenging to manage for those few days, Caleb really touched my heart in a sweet way. He would be so stiff and agitated that I could hardly change his diaper. But when I would put him on my lap to snuggle, he would nuzzle his head into the crook of my arm and relax.
I just loved that he needed his mom to feel better. I loved that he knew it was me and that he was comforted by my touch. I loved how Caleb showed me in such a physical way that he knows .

Proud moments: Caleb's g tube got clogged, so I took it out for the first time and put a new one in. I figured if I could put a trach in, I could put a new g tube in with out going to the doctor! I was glad I did because it came out the next week along with every bit of stomach contents that Caleb's tummy wanted to throw-up! Since I had already done it once-- getting it in the second time was a piece of cake(just a bit messier!)

Church attempt #1

We took Caleb to church with us for the first time since last November! We were so excited! We even made it all the way to the first speaker before Caleb started to struggle and Mitchell had a diaper escapade that couldn't be contained at church.
Do I think it was a failed attempt?
Nope!
It was a treat to be there all together as a family! Even with Josh and Matthew poking, Mitchell you know what-ing, and Caleb coughing- it was worth it! Next week I just know we'll make it so speaker number 2!

Better boy!

Caleb seems to be feeling quite a bit better today! I was able to turn his oxygen down a bit, and he had lots of smiles to share- even in his sleep!

Peace!

How sweet it is

to be loved by you!

Snuffy

Caleb seems to be feeling better from pnemonia,
but he still requires breathing treatments and 3 liters of oxygen to maintain good saturation levels.
I think he enjoys his nebulizer mask;
sometimes he likes to wear it on his nose instead of his trach just for fun. He thinks it makes him look like snuffalufagus.