A Happy Birthday and Happy Easter!

In the last couple of weeks (almost) we have had a great time celebrating 2 very special days - Peyton's 2nd birthday (which was April 2) and Easter Sunday!
We celebrated Peyton's birthday a couple of days late, but no complaints on Peyton's behalf because he was able to have 2 birthday parties! We gathered at Meme's on the 4th and at Nana and Papaw's on the 5th! Which meant 2 birthday cakes! Peyton loved everyone singing "Happy Birthday" and was so excited to blow out his candle - we had to repeat it over again just to see his reaction another time. He received lots of great birthday presents and we thank everyone for joining with us for our little not-well-planned celebrations.

For Easter weekend we took the boys (Morgan spent Easter with her dad)Saturday to a couple of egg hunts where each of them won some great prizes for either having the most eggs, finding the lucky egg, or getting the prize slips in their eggs. And we don't even want to talk about all the candy that has been ingested. . . We all had a blast with them and got some great pictures.
Each of the kids got their Easter baskets at different times. Morgan had hers Friday(I also took her to see Hannah Montana), Peyton had his Friday night, and Brady was last - he got his Saturday. Easter Sunday was very special for us, we were able to break Miss Robin out of jail at Quillen Rehab to come eat Easter dinner with us at Aunt Misty and Uncle Jason's house. The kids all hunted eggs (yet again) and Peyton found the lucky egg (again!). Brady and Lauren kept the floors hot in the house running the ride on toys all over the place and I really hope to get some good pictures from someone, because I didn't take the first one all day today! Shame on me! Poor Peyton was extremely grumpy, all because his afternoon nap was interrupted - and too many people at once. He had a hard day, but ended up in a better mood this evening. Brady was dressed so cute this morning, and we attempted to dress Peyton identically but the vest ended up being way too big (and hot) so he just wore a white polo. Daddy picked sissy up this evening and she had a pretty awesome Easter herself with her dad and Hopie. Her dress was beautiful!! I know this is off-topic, but Morgan has a sibling on the way - due in August. She is very excited.
We really did have a fantastic weekend - although very exhausting. I will post some pictures soon, I promise. Too tired tonight.

Wow It's Done...

I moved the whole blog from myspace tonight. It's dated accordingly so it looks as if I have been typing from here the whole time. Makes me feel so much better to have everything together so now we can ditch myspace.

Another Photo . . .Or Three

Compliments of Morgan's camera -taken at Bays Mountain last week during spring break. I treasure the photos I have where Brady will actually pose and smile with his sissy. There are times I've had to bribe him with candy. . . Now Morgan on the other hand will pose and smile for anyone no matter what. Peyton was mesmerized by the turtle habitat. He can say "turtle" very plainly!

This Is Our Brady . . . And Yes, Those Are Underwear

A nut just like his daddy. I had to post this - it truly shows Brady's character. He is a fun, happy, loveable little boy that we love very much. This week he is entering into preschool at Littlest Angel where his sissy went. Oh how time flies. . . He is finally growing too! He turned 3 in the fall and was still wearing 24 months - 2T (and some 18 months!). Now he's more of a 2T-3T.
At 3 years old, Brady loves trucks, tools, games, trains, pennies, picking at sissy, peanut butter and jelly, getting dirty, playing outside, water, movies, and especially - sissy and brother. He is the most easy going little fella that can go to bed at 11 and get up perky and wide-eyed at 7. But thank the Lord he still naps daily. And speaking of, he and Peyton have a brand new bunk/loft bed and Brady is now sleeping by himself like a big boy!
Lately he's like an old car starting up when he gets to talking - out of no where theres a little stutter that when you obviously take notice, gets worse. But that's with anything when it comes to Brady, if he can get your attention and make you laugh - he'll keep on and on until he wears it thin - or busts your gut from laughter.

I was half wrong

Ok so maybe you still have to sign up with an ID to leave comments and subscribe to our blog (get email notification when there is something new), BUT you don't have to do that just to read our posts so we are still on top with this site. Do whatever you like, just enjoy!

Peyton's Surgery

On February 17, 2009 Peyton had a major surgery at Shriner's in Philadelphia to correct several of his joint deformities. He had an open reduction of his left hip (it was previously dislocated), had his right elbow released, osteotomy of right wrist, and z-plasty of right thumb - along with bilateral heel cord release for his clubbed feet for the 3rd time. Two pins were placed in Peyton's wrist, and one in his thumb. After surgery he spent 3 days in the PICU and overnight on the main floor. We remained in Philadelphia for a few nights after discharge and then made the trip back home - ahead of schedule. Larry, Lynne, and Brady came up for the surgery and stayed with us the duration - I don't think we could have made it without their help! Brady was perfect the whole trip - I don't know if any other 3 year old could have been as good as he was.

So the surgery was a complete success thank the Lord!! Our baby gained up to 120 degrees flexion in his elbow, his wrist is now almost at neutral, and his thumb is out of his palm! Also, his hip placement ended up correcting most, if not all of his leg length discrepancy and his leg rotation is corrected. There is a risk of regression where his arm is concerned, however, that is where therapy plays a key role for the next few months. I can't say enough about his wonderful doctors, Dr. Kozin and Dr. van Bosse. We are so thankful to have them treating our son.

Peyton came out of surgery wearing a spica cast and a long arm cast. The arm cast was on for 3 weeks and the spica will remain for a grand total of 10 weeks. March 17, Melanie, Robin, and I made the trip back up with Peyton for arm cast and pin removal, and spica change under anesthesia. It was such a relief to get rid of that bulky arm cast!! I had a very emotional moment when we got his fingers in his mouth for the first time in his life. We are now drowning in therapy 5 times a day, and it's terribly miserable for the little guy! But it is absolutely necessary to maintain the range of motion we gained through the surgery. Peyton wears a splint on his arm and wrist about 20 hours a day. The exercises and splinting will taper down quite a bit in 3 months when healing is complete. His pain has been quite manageable. He was discharged on morphine and valium and we stopped using that within the first couple of weeks.

Those who know Peyton can guess how he is doing - FANTASTIC (with the exception of therapy). He has his moments but is recovering beautifully and figuring out how to play with his one arm. He still does not move his right arm actively very much yet, but we have been told this could take months to return. And he can even use his head and arch his back to scoot around in his cast a little.

One of our biggest obstacles following surgery was positioning/handling/transporting him. As you can somewhat tell in the photo, Peyton's legs are spread far apart making it impossible for him to fit in a normal stroller. We literally had no way to transport him. He was casted with very little hip flexion so he is unable to sit in anything - not even a carseat! He is no feather to carry around with that big spica cast which goes clear up to his shoulder blades in the back.

We were blessed by a couple of anonymous angels who ordered him this awesome adaptive stroller which he CAN fit into and believe me, we wear it out daily!! Even around the house we use it. I don't know what we would have done without it, honestly - and we could have never afforded it on our own. The best thing is that we can use it for quite some time since it accomodates children over 100 pounds. I could go on and on about this stroller, but what's most important is that we were able to overcome that obstacle thanks to this couple.

We are scheduled to return to Philadelphia May 8 for spica removal. The tunnel is long, but we see the light.

Please continue to pray for Peyton's recovery. Right now he (as well as daddy and I) is sick with a terrible cold.

The Barkers - A Brief Introduction

Chad and I have been married for almost five years. Our anniversary is coming up May 29th. We have 3 beautiful children, Morgan (8), Brady (3), and Peyton (almost 2). Our cups runneth over to say the least.
We reside in Kingsport, TN and are very fortunate to also live near most of our family.
Chad is a rescue tech for Sullivan County EMA, and I've been a stay at home mom since Peyton made his entrance into the world.

Peyton has a condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita - his story is amazing. We are usually consumed by his medical treatment, but bask in faith that God is in control, as He has clearly made His presence known in our lives during the last 2 1/2 years especially.

Sadly, this is the only professional family portrait we have had made since Peyton came along, but maybe another will come along soon - or at least a group picture of just the kiddos. One thing you will learn about me is that I love pictures - having great ones made and taking my own - BUT lately I stink at both.

I plan to move my blog in it's entirety from myspace over to this site. I don't know how long it will take me, but my plan is to close out myspace once I get that completed. I'm just not thrilled with that website anymore and the only thing holding our account open is the fact that I have a priceless diary on there of Peyton's progress. So if you see lots of posts all at once, know that they are old and I will try to date them accordingly.