Things have been a little quiet here on the blog. This was in part, because I (Philip) spent a good portion of last week and part of this week back in Rogers. Part of our life-in-limbo strategy is to make every trip home count. So along with shuffling belongings between our home and hotel, I managed to cram 4 commercial photography shoots, an engagement shoot and a variety of home projects into the few days I was home. This was the longest stretch of time I've spent in Rogers since we were stuck in Fort Smith in early June and it was very nice to be back.

Due to the fact that the our essential coffee equipment was temporarily relocated to Ft. Smith, morning trips to Iron Horse Coffee Company were a must.

In our absence, we have relied on good friends to look in on our dog and our house. We have of course, provided them with house keys, some of them more creative than others.

I found time to take The Bosco for a walk around the downtown area we call home. I was saddened to see that the Thai Restaurant around the corner from our studio was gone. My sadness however, was short-lived when I realized that the geniuses who own… — I found time to take The Bosco for a walk around the downtown area we call home. I was saddened to see that the Thai Restaurant around the corner from our studio was gone. My sadness however, was short-lived when I realized that the geniuses who own The Rail Pizza Company are opening a burger joint in the vacated space.

Packing up to head back to Ft. Smith is always bittersweet.

The Bosco hides his emotions well...except when he sees my green suitcase.

These two wristbands are constant reminders of what I have to look forward to upon my return.

The other reason for our little period of silence was that the last couple of weeks have been incredibly difficult and stressful for us. Weston has been struggling a lot with sleep Apnea and last week, his Apnea episodes increased both in number and intensity. One evening while Kristen was bottle-feeding him, he managed to stop breathing long enough to turn himself blue and frighten even the nurses. Needless to say these events have had us stressed, tired, freaked out, overwhelmed and concerned. But we also take comfort in the fact that both of our kids are in a place where they are receiving the highest level of medical care and attention and we know that at some point, Weston will learn to just breathe.

Kristen sent me this photo while I was away. Obviously, they're up to no good... :)

Weston has been prescribed a heart monitor for his Apnea episodes. Aside from passing a carseat test, he has to go 72 hours without having an Apnea episode before he can be discharged.

Weston's heart monitor looks like a piece of time travel equipment from Back to the Future and when it goes off, it sounds like a Hurricane warning.

And now, some good news. Both twins are gaining weight. Weston has cleared the 5lb mark and is moving on up towards 6. Summer is just about 5lbs. She has also passed her carseat test and is taking all of her feedings by bottle. After a sleep-in at the hospital, the doctor cleared her to be discharged from the hospital and into our permanent care. As of this morning (July 24th), we shuttled our sweet daughter to our home sweet hotel room, 2 minutes from the hospital and from her twin brother.

"Hmmmm...this is definitely not a crib"....

The Novomobile officially becomes the first vehicle to shuttle The Thomas Twins.

It was one of the sweetest moments in my life walking out of the hospital with Summer. And it was one of the hardest moments of my life leaving Weston behind. Weston will remain in the NICU until he passes his carseat test and goes 72 hours without an Apnea episode. Typically, the wait time is 7 days but since he is going home on an Apnea Monitor, the time he has to go without an episode gets cut down. Summer and Kristen and I will be living in our home sweet hotel just down the road for the time being. We have a policy in our family....no twin left behind :)

Self Portrait with me and the little man. This was the first time I was able to hold him without wearing a hospital gown so I wore my Iron Horse Coffee Company shirt for the occasion. Downtown Rogers Represent.

I know I've said before, but I'll say it again; Living a life-in-limbo would not be possible without you all. Your thoughts, your prayers, your well-wishes, positive vibes and words of encouragement have meant the world to us. I would especially like to add that we are absolutely proud to call downtown Rogers our home. During my time back, I had more people in our little downtown area than I can count stop me and ask about the twins. One morning at Iron Horse Coffee Company, the lady behind the counter (we'll call her Hillary) asked me about the twins, even before she asked me what I wanted to order. Two days later, the owner we'll call him Emery) did the same thing. Our next-door neighbor who owns the bookshop gave me the biggest hug ever and said "everyone's been talking about you all". To be honest, I didn't realize so many people were following along and keeping up with our journey. But the more, the merrier :)

During our hospital "stay-in", we were able to have a private room with both twins and a nice window that looked toward the west. After we settled in, a HUGE thunderstorm came barreling through the area. It was awesome to hold the kids and listen to… — During our hospital "stay-in", we were able to have a private room with both twins and a nice window that looked toward the west. After we settled in, a HUGE thunderstorm came barreling through the area. It was awesome to hold the kids and listen to the wind and the rain. And toward the end of the day, the storm cloud remnants gave way to this.

Life in Limbo | One out, One to go.