Super Bowl Commercial

Here's a little Super Bowl Half Time Inspiration. Nothing to do with Silas. However, after viewing this, you may want to keep him in your daily prayers considering the antics of his parents and all that he has to look forward to in life with them!!

PS-All time best Super Bowl ever? We choose to believe so!

7 Months Old and Counting!

Today Silas turned 7 Months Old! And to celebrate the occassion, we decided to revisit Pooh Bear, once seemingly much larger! Enjoy the trip down memory lane. We sure did!



Silas continues to amaze us! He is growing, laughing, rolling, flirting, and all-around fun. He has come to the conclusion (or realization) that he is indeed the boss of this house. When things don't go exactly how he would like, we know about it immediately. Grandma Ward would have called that the "Bull" in him. We're glad that there is a part of her in Silas. Although we might have preferred her love of chocolate.



Our latest trick is to "cry" a tearless cry until someone picks us up...at which point we immediately start laughing. We also will do "tricks" with our Physical Therapist while periodically looking to make sure an audience is still present. Otherwise, the effort just does not seem worth it.



Overall, Silas is a barrel of laughs and a true joy! We continue to thank God each and every day for all of His provisions, for bringing Silas into our family and for the journey together that He has and continues to lead us through. Our prayer is that, with each and every passing month, God will guide and direct us as parents as we attempt to guide and direct Silas into relationship with Him. We covet your prayers each day as we seek to make that happen.



As previously mentioned, Silas has decided to let us know that it is his time to eat. So, we are now signing off for Sweet Potato Duty.

Looks Who's Laughing Now!

This past week Silas' incredible smiles started to turn into belly laughs. While they only come once in a while, we were able to catch some on tape! We wanted to share a video with all of you, our committed blog readers. Make sure you have your volume up for this one!

In other news... watching Silas grow (over 13 pounds as of today!) continues to be one of the most incredible experiences of our lives. His personality is starting to take shape more and more each day. We are quickly beginning to realize that he is an explorer of the world and has no interest in sitting still. Not sure where he got those genes from?!?! He would probably be sitting up by now, but as soon as he is in position he starts to look all over, reach for his toes, or throw his torso around in excitement. We have also found that he loves his toys! But no matter what he's playing with, boredom sets in within minutes! What an adventure!

I guess you could say that most days are filled with all the normal baby stuff. After all of the journeys of the past six months, anything "normal" is a true gift from God and more of a blessing than we could ever explain!

Hope you enjoy the video!

New Year, New Eats!

It's been a long time since we've updated everyone on everything going on, so we'll take a quick tour through our last few weeks since bringing Silas home from Dallas. Due to Sy's premature lung development, we need to be extra diligent in avoiding any respiratory illnesses this winter season. So, we decided to have a nice, laid-back Christmas at home with no travel and limited exposures. Two out of three ain't bad!! After warp-speed gift opening with the Miller Family, all 12 of us headed off to Shea's in Buffalo to see a live performance of White Christmas. We had a great day and enjoyed celebrating with the family before getting hit with the big snow storm!

On Christmas Eve, Heidi's parents watched Silas so that we could go to church together. The day was doubly exciting as we celebrated 6 months since Silas joined our family!! What an adventure we've had since then! We decided to take a break from a whirlwind of services by taking some Christmas cookies in to Sy's first home...the NICU at Sister's Hospital! It was so good to see some of the people that helped us so incredibly much in getting Silas to this point!

Our Christmas with Silas was amazing! We celebrated together as a family, singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and reading the Christmas story. Santa, of course, dropped by sometime in the night (or early morning) with a couple of little presents and to enjoy some cookies. Turns out he is lactose intolerant as well. Who would have guessed?? And to remember what a special first year this has been, Silas got a train set from Mommy and Daddy to have under the tree each Christmas season. We rounded out the week by celebrating with Auntie Christina and Uncle Rick (who wore a mask the whole time!), Nana and Papa and great-Nanny and Poppie. We'll never forget this first Christmas together!

And, one last major milestone included introducing solids into Silas' diet...Very exciting!! Rice cereal down and on to butternut squash!

Here's a picture to prove how very little is getting into his mouth!

Home Again!

Oh what a week we have had!! On Tuesday we checked out of our hotel and left Dallas behind. After a long day of travel, we were ready to be at home! Silas did remarkably well on both flights and has surprised us here at home too. He is healing well, the swelling is diminishing each and every day, and he did not take any steps back developmentally…except for the milestone of needing sleep. He hates the nighttime and lets us know it. But, other than that he is back to his happy, smiling self! We love that everything is behind us and that we are carefree as we prepare to celebrate this special time of the year.

And speaking of this time of year…we could not have been more surprised to come home to our friends having helped us get in the Christmas mood. On Tuesday morning, three of Heidi’s girlfriends went out to a Christmas tree farm to cut down the tree that we had tagged prior to leaving for Dallas. The funny thing was, we ran out of time to tag a tree and never knew that we would need to tell anyone that small piece of info. So, needless to say, they spent a good deal of time searching through the 1500 pines to find the one that did not exist. (We would like to pause at this time to extend our most sincere apologies to the person whose tagged tree our friends decided they would write “Miller” on and tell us was the tree we previously picked out. It is most certainly a beautiful find.) Our friends and church also stockpiled our freezer with many meals to help us over the course of the next few weeks, a decision that, as we run around like crazy people, will keep us from one continuous cereal buffet.

Yesterday we celebrated the fact that it had been one full year since we found out that Silas would be joining our family. We never could have imagined all the blessings that we have experienced since his birth. Each day we are truly amazed and grateful for all that he means to us and pray that his little life would impact many, many others as well. At this time of year we know that his life and ours as well hold true meaning because of another baby whose birth and life continue to change the world. We pray that the JOY that only Jesus Christ can bring will fill your hearts and lives this holiday season and always!

Love,
J.L., Heidi and Silas

Shrinking Head, Growing Teeth!

Hello from our Dallas-Hotel-Livin'-Selves! We wanted to update everyone on just how well Silas is doing. He was discharged from the hospital Friday afternoon with very specific instructions....shampoo his hair. That's it. No bandages, no pain meds unless absolutely necessary, nothing. Just good ole' Johnson and Johnson. Due to his underdeveloped lungs and the breathing spell in the hospital, he is receiving some asthma medication 6 times a day. Other than that, he is just hanging out with Mommy and Daddy, Nana and Papa waiting for his head to return to normal. Although that will take about four months time, we can visibly see a difference already. By the end of next week, 70% of the swelling should have disappeared.

Now, along with the whole brain surgery thing, Silas decided to pull off another major milestone...his first two teeth! We guess he took that "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" thing literally!!





Overall, Sy's recovery has been amazing. He is such a little trooper and has come through this remarkably well. It truly has been a testament to the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever...His mercies new every morning. For that we are forever grateful!

We will be traveling home on Tuesday. Regardless of what the pulmonologist says, Sy's lungs are more than well developed. Our biggest prayer right now is that he chooses not to make use of them on our flights.

We cannot begin to describe the absolute joy and relief that we are experiencing now that this is all behind us! Again, thank you all for your continued prayers!

With Much Love,

J.L., Heidi and Silas

The Other Side

WE WROTE THIS YESTERDAY AND DID NOT HAVE TIME TO POST IT, SO THE TIMING IS OFF BY A DAY...SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION!!

We are writing to let you know that all is well here in Dallas! Silas came through surgery remarkably well yesterday and we are thrilled to be on the other side of things! He went into surgery yesterday morning at 7:39 am (precisely!) and was expected to be in the Operating Room for 5 hours. After the first hour, Silas had been sedated and all of his lines were in. After 3 hours and 20 minutes we called into the Operating Room for an update and it was the doctor who answered, with Silas screaming in the background. It was our favorite Silas scream yet!!!

Silas was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit around noon yesterday and we were able to hear details from the surgery team at that time. Overall, the surgery went faster and better than expected. Silas did lose a great deal of blood and required a transfusion post-op. However, the doctor expected Silas to recover without any complications...apparently he was not properly informed of Sy's track record!

As you can see from the pictures, Silas looks a lot like Charlie Brown (or Rocky's opponent)! He is swollen and bruised. His eyes are swollen shut and his head is the size of a volleyball. His body looks like that of a football player with a complete lack of neck, is pasty white from blood loss, and he is too exhausted and sore to make much more than a sad moan. However, we know that the road will be long, but we are well on our way.

At this point, Silas is still in the Intensive Care Unit and will be at least through the night due to some trouble he had this morning. Although his heart rate and breathing dropped off quite low for a good couple of minutes, he has not had any episodes since. The doctors cannot find any physiological problem that would have caused this to happen...just a hiccup along the road to recovery.

The prayer now is that Sy's fever will start to turn the other direction and that he does not develop any infection, pneumonia or any additional respiratory issues, that he stays out of significant amounts of pain, that his numbers will come up at the completion of his second transfusion, and that his swelling begins to diminish as of tomorrow.

UPDATE: It is now tomorrow morning!! Silas is doing really well. He has gotten his appetite back somewhat and is not nearly as black and blue as he was yesterday. We are expected to be moved to a regular pediatric floor as soon as a bed opens up. Things are definitely headed in the right direction!! Now we just have to get him back off the oxygen that he just came off of at home!! All in good time!

Mostly we are writing to let you know how encouraged we are. We feel as though a big ole' weight that has been hanging around since June has been lifted off of our shoulders. We are truly blessed to have Silas on the road to recovery, to have had the support of so many of you, to have had our family here throughout this time and to have been upheld in so many of your prayers. We know that because of your faith, we have been able to remain faithful and that has made all of the difference. God has shone His face through the faces of so many of you and the three of us have been blessed because of it. We know that Silas is resting and recovering in the palm of God's hand and that is a pretty cool place to be!

We will keep you all updated as things progress!

With Much Love,

J.L., Heidi and Silas!

Prayer Wheel

We wanted to pass along a Prayer Wheel that a group of ladies from our church made. It covers the entire time that we will be in Dallas, with specific prayer requests for times throughout the days we will be away. The biggest prayer right now is that the weather holds up for our flights out. There is supposed to be a major ice/rain/sleet/typical Buffalo December day happening right as we are flying out. We could swap our flights out for a mere $1200.00, which we felt was reasonable :-)!!! However, we know that God has and is continuing to work all things together in His perfect timing. Everything else has come together so well and we know that this will all work out, too. And, as a bonus, Silas will get to try out his ultra sweet snow suit!

As always, we appreciate all of the prayers and support that we have received along this journey. We could not have made it through this time without each of you upholding us in prayer. We seek your continued intercession come Tuesday morning, as we dread the moments apart from Silas. However, we are confident that God's peace will sustain us throughout that time.

We hope to post an update Tuesday evening while standing on the other side of the surgery. Although recovery will be daunting, we will be thrilled to have that piece behind us!!

PRAYERS FOR SILAS
HEIDI AND J.L.

Dear Friends of Silas:
Below is a prayer wheel to help the Millers as they embark on their journey. Although they are traveling into the unknown which can be daunting, scary and nerve-wracking, Heidi and J.L. have the peace and comfort of knowing God and trusting in Him. Please support them by praying during the following time frames. Dallas may be far, but not far enough to escape the power of prayer. Together our Church community can bring comfort to Heidi and J.L., Silas and
their family during this period of their lives.

The Days before departure for Dallas
Silas to be healthy. Complete peace for Heidi and J.L.
Strength to get through all pre-testing.
December 2

TRAVEL: Flight departs@ 4pm
Safe and smooth travel without delays to Dallas. There are Pre-op appointments that are scheduled to begin 9 hours after landing in Dallas. Silas needs to feel well and stay
content during flight. Pray for a good nights rest before a busy next day.
December 3

PRE-OP
Strength to make it through 10 hours of back to back appointments and testing. Traveling mercies as they navigate in and around Dallas to various hospitals and offices. Pray for
Silas during his in-depth Cat Scan which requires fasting and sedation. Peaceful rest
for Heidi and J.L. and family.
December 4

SURGERY
6am Prayers for: Silas during his fasting. Safe trip to the hospital.
7:30 Strength for Heidi and J.L. as they hand over Silas to operating
room staff.
8:00 Pray for the Peace that only God can give to surround the family for
the 5 hours that Silas is in the operating room
Pray that the surgery goes safely and smoothly
Pray for the Doctor. Pray for wisdom as he operates
12:30 Pray for Silas in the recovery room
Pray for Heidi and J.L. to have inner courage as they see Silas in the
recovery room knowing they can not hold or comfort him
2:00 Pray for Silas in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Pray that he will
be free from infection and any post-op complications.
December 5,6

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Pray for Silas’ quick recovery in the PICU. Pray for a quick return to his normal eating,
smiling and snuggling self. Pray that Silas will have limited discomfort and swelling
December 7 – 10
Pray that Silas is healthy and well enough to be discharged. Pray for Heidi and J.L. as
they transition into full time care for Silas at their hotel room. Pray for good rest,
continued recovery without complications.
December 11

TRAVEL
Arrive home @ 7 pm
No delays or cancellations with the flight. Pray for Silas’ comfort during travel.
Pray for them to be surrounded by healthy people on the airplane.
December 12 -
Pray for Silas to be feeling well as they celebrate their first family Christmas.
Pray for Silas to stay free of illness as he continues to recover.
Pray for Silas and family as every 6 months the doctors check his progress. He will
undergo hospitalization locally and will need sedation.

Blessings!

J.L., Heidi and Silas