Monday, February 20, 2012

~~It's been a while~~

So, life has been completely crazy, and therefore, I've had no extra time to update. Yes, we have had more drama!!! I got the call at school last Wednesday that an ambulance had been called to ABC to pick up Anna, for what I was told was a dislocated wrist. Come to find out....Anna broke both bones in her arm just about the wrist by falling off an exercise trampoline, which she does not remember because she was passing out from pain..... Yeah, got to love a phone call like that! Two hours from checking in at the ER, we were having surgery to put her bones back together. We had a 5+ hour stay at TRMC that evening, which resulted in a hot pink cast accompanying us home. We were so thankful for the pain to be over. This is the exact same break Sara had when she fell from the monkey bars in kindergarten. We blinged up the cast to make it work for our little diva so that she will still be fashionable. :) We had a recheck today to see if the bones had remained where they set them. The bones HAVE shifted some, but not enough to cause any concern. We will have another xray next Monday to be sure the bones haven't shifted any more. We pray that God places these bones where they need to be, and they stay in place.


Fresh out of surgery

All blinged up



Hamming it up for the camera :)
We were overwhelmed at the outpouring of expressions of love in the midst of this emergency. People showed up at the hospital, treats were sent to the house, and visitors came to the house. God has blessed us with amazing people who truly love our little family.

Anna has enjoyed the last several days at home resting, and will return to school on Wednesday. I am pretty sure she's ready! She's been WILD and crazy at home. But I will take wild and crazy over the extreme pain she was in Wednesday as we waited for surgery. I have never seen my baby hurt so badly. I would have traded places with her if I could have...anything to take away my baby's pain.

So many people have expressed their sadness for all we have been through in the past couple of years. Yes, it's been difficult at times, but at least we are ALIVE. We have had a lifetime of medical occurences in the past 2 years, but we have survived and become so much stronger because of them. God has chosen to test us through these trials, and I pray that we have honored Him in our handling of these trials. He has walked with us through every one of these trying times, and given us the strength to come out better on the other side. I truly believe that if He brings us TO it, He DOES bring us THROUGH it. Not once has He abandoned us during our trials.

My prayer is that YOU will turn to Him and turn over to Him whatever you are struggling with right now. Nothing is too small for Him to help with. He desires for you to run to Him with everything and allow Him to help you through whatever you are facing.

I learned today of the news of one of my graduating classmates losing her battle to breast cancer. This really is a wake up call to remind us all that we are not guaranteed the very next minute. We should not take for granted one single minute of our lives. We don't know when God is going to see fit to call us home to be with Him. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Beverly Dillard Carter as they mourn the loss of this young mother and wife.

Tomorrow may be too late. Do you know where you will spend eternity? Are you living your life so that you are ready no matter when the moment comes for God to call you home to be with Him? If not, please consider making that decision today. I'm so thankful that I made my decision many years ago, and that my Heavenly Father was right beside me walking through every one of these extreme trials we have faced in the last two years. I honestly do NOT know how I would have endured without Him by my side.

Much love to all and kiss those babies,

Monday, January 30, 2012

Not a lot of change.....

Well, there's not a lot of change to report. Life has resumed its INSANITY since school started back. I am so thankful to be able to keep up with the craziness of our life again. The best part is being able to walk again to burn off some stress!! Today I walked 3 miles in 36 minutes, which is the farthest I have walked since surgery #1 of 5 last May. :) It is wonderful to be back at work with my students and be able to function as a complete person again.

As spring heads our way, everything will speed up to extreme insanity, but I can't wait! Bring it on! I'm ready to run with it now that I can race with life again.

We are preparing for Reed's 2nd birthday!!!! I KNOW!!! Who can believe he is almost 2 years old???? He has come so far in his 22 months of life....the one we were told he wouldn't have. God has truly blessed us with our miracle baby boy. He continues to amaze us every day. So many of you prayed with us for this precious miracle, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. God heard the cries of His people and, according to His plan, healed our Reed. WOW!!!!

Much love to each of you, and remember to kiss those babies!!!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

~2012~ What will you bring our way????

On December 29, 2011, I began to live again. Up to that point, I was not sure I'd make it through this last surgery and recovery. Not a sufferer of depression, I was so there! Excruciating pain was miserable to endure. This time I actually took pain meds and had to rent a TENS unit for shock therapy to get any minute amount of relief. Life began again for me on 12-29-11, when I was actually able to get out of bed, get showered and dressed, and run a few errands. I've been in high gear since then!

Work started back this past Monday. It has been a long and exhausting week trying to get back into the routine of working and being out of bed for an entire day. I'm definitely having to build up my stamina again. I even walked a 12-minute mile on the treadmill Monday afternoon. :)

I'm super excited to celebrate my baby boy's 22-month birthday on Saturday. It's so hard to believe that he will be 2 in 2 short months. What a whirlwind these last 2 years have been!

We also get to celebrate Sara's first show choir competition this weekend. After MANY grueling hours of practice, the girls finally get to compete tomorrow. Busy weekend.... Confirmation also begins for Sara this weekend at church. She will participate in classes and trips over the next 3 months in preparation for her joining of the church in April. I'm so very excited to be able to experience this with my baby. It's so very hard to believe she is old enough to do this already! I covet your prayers for Sara and the other 6th graders as they go through this journey over the next 3 months. I'm even more excited that she chose my grandparents to be her mentors. What a wonderful experience this will be for her and for my grandparents!

Report cards are out for 2nd 9 weeks, and I couldn't be more proud of both girls for their exceeding grades in all areas. They truly make us proud with their school performance.

Dance is kicking into high gear in preparation for recital. This is always a busy time as the dancers begin to polish their performances to prepare for dance recital This is when the girls get most excited!

Mommy has truly had to JUMP back into life at full speed with all the extra-curricular activities kicking back in. :) I'm happy to be busy running around after school providing taxi services for my girls because it means they are busy doing the things they love.

Despite all the storms that have occurred in the past 2 years, we have been abundantly blessed. Reed's beginning was so very traumatic and scary but has turned out amazingly. This past year, 2011, has had 5 surgeries for me in 6 months and 1 for Reed. Despite all the surgeries, I ended 2011 feeling the best I've felt in a year. Our prayer is for a quiet, fairly uneventful 2012. :) I'm so very ready to have a boring year to make up for all the drama of the past 2 years for our family.

My prayer for you is that you are each blessed abundantly in 2012. I pray that God continues to bless you and your family. He has been so very faithful and true to carry us through all the storms we have weathered over the past 2 years. I pray that you each turn to Him in times of need. He will be there and carry you through if You will reach out to Him.

Much love to you all,