Katey's long awaited dance recital was today! I was teary eyed watching her, so proud and thankful for her sunshinyness.
Thankfully, my husband did all the work on posting this one. He even did a short imovie with music and everything thanks to his new best friend... his mac. :o) Hop on over to his new blog to see Katey here.
ENJOY!
I promise... you won't be disappointed!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A Most Pleasant Surprise
Eighteen years ago this July, I had a very special prayer request answered. Long story short (maybe :o), I was a very sad little girl who had just lost a beloved friend, my Nana. And the only thing I could think of that could cheer me up is if my Mom and Dad had a new baby in the house for me to love and play with. I've always LOVED babies... as long as I can remember, really. So, one night, while trying to go to sleep, I offered up a tearful quick prayer for a baby brother or sister. Just once.
Well, I guess I'm giving away my age, but I was 12 at the time and my little sis was 8 and there were absolutely no plans in my parents' minds for a growing family. A few months after my prayer when my parents told us the Lord has surprised them with a baby on the way, I screamed and jumped up and down saying, "He answered my prayer! He answered my prayer!!!" To which Mom and Dad said, "um, your prayer?!" :o)
My amazing little (BIG) brother Jacob is turning 18 this year... in a month!!! Unbelievable. I loved every second of being his big sister/wanna-be mommy in the five years I had with him before I left for college. And he makes me so proud to this day. He has such a tender heart to the Lord and to others. I believe in him. God has done great things through him and will continue to, I feel sure. And none of us can imagine life without him.. our surprise... well, their surprise, not mine. :o)
My little boy looks a bit like his Uncle Jake. And follows in his footsteps. Jake has converted my son to NASCAR. And I don't mean just liking cars and playing with matchbox cars and watching a little bit of a race or two. I mean, DIE HARD, every Sunday, every driver, every car, every sponsor, every pit strategy, LOVING NASCAR race fan. Jason and I laugh because we like it now too... a lot! I would have never believed you if you had told me 5 years ago that I would be spending hours following race cars... never.
But, that's not all. Caleb has a tender heart like his Uncle, too. And he really amazes us with the conversations he tells us he's had with the Lord. One night, he and I were praying for a sweet friend of mine who was newly pregnant but having some trouble. As we finished, Caleb asked me when we were going to have another baby. I told him I didn't know, that God would give us another baby whenever or if ever He thought best. (we thought we might wait until next year to ask the Gift-Giver for another gift.)
Well, a few weeks later, my son was the one saying, "He answered my prayer!!"
We are thrilled. Surprised, but oh so pleasantly. I'm not one to not be excited about a new life growing inside. So, here's our little early Christmas gift (we are due mid-December) as of a month ago, looking a bit like a cute, sweet gummy bear. :o)
Well, I guess I'm giving away my age, but I was 12 at the time and my little sis was 8 and there were absolutely no plans in my parents' minds for a growing family. A few months after my prayer when my parents told us the Lord has surprised them with a baby on the way, I screamed and jumped up and down saying, "He answered my prayer! He answered my prayer!!!" To which Mom and Dad said, "um, your prayer?!" :o)
My amazing little (BIG) brother Jacob is turning 18 this year... in a month!!! Unbelievable. I loved every second of being his big sister/wanna-be mommy in the five years I had with him before I left for college. And he makes me so proud to this day. He has such a tender heart to the Lord and to others. I believe in him. God has done great things through him and will continue to, I feel sure. And none of us can imagine life without him.. our surprise... well, their surprise, not mine. :o)
My little boy looks a bit like his Uncle Jake. And follows in his footsteps. Jake has converted my son to NASCAR. And I don't mean just liking cars and playing with matchbox cars and watching a little bit of a race or two. I mean, DIE HARD, every Sunday, every driver, every car, every sponsor, every pit strategy, LOVING NASCAR race fan. Jason and I laugh because we like it now too... a lot! I would have never believed you if you had told me 5 years ago that I would be spending hours following race cars... never.
But, that's not all. Caleb has a tender heart like his Uncle, too. And he really amazes us with the conversations he tells us he's had with the Lord. One night, he and I were praying for a sweet friend of mine who was newly pregnant but having some trouble. As we finished, Caleb asked me when we were going to have another baby. I told him I didn't know, that God would give us another baby whenever or if ever He thought best. (we thought we might wait until next year to ask the Gift-Giver for another gift.)
Well, a few weeks later, my son was the one saying, "He answered my prayer!!"
We are thrilled. Surprised, but oh so pleasantly. I'm not one to not be excited about a new life growing inside. So, here's our little early Christmas gift (we are due mid-December) as of a month ago, looking a bit like a cute, sweet gummy bear. :o)
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Overload
I just have not been able to post or continue this blog. Well, I could have, but it just wasn't priority. I recently read a book with a group of wonderful ladies I get to see every Wednesday called, The Overload Syndrome, by Richard A. Swenson, MD. Great book for the last year of my life! In it, he talked about the various ways we as a culture are overloaded... with change, with stress, with activity, with hurry, with media, with possession and others.
One of the quotes in it that got underlined was... "Always make technology work for you and not against you." That just says it. Although the outlet of this blog and the chance to" scrapbook online" was and still is so exciting and important to me, last summer it just became a "to-do" that was too much. I had to let it go for a while.
I was preparing for my first year EVER as a homeschooling mom- so fun, overwhelming, wonderful and scary all at the same time. And growing even more in relationships... with my precious husband of almost 10 years (!), my sister through a very hard time, and my church family. Not to mention, just getting life back to normal after Caleb's surgery and recovery.
So, I had to cut some things... just so I could really take life in. I had to slow down so I wasn't "passin' up more stuff than I was catchin' up to." :o) Ya know what I mean?
And it's been really, REALLY good.
Now, I feel like I can get back to posting every so often.
Tonight, I read through my previous posts and realized how much my kiddoes have changed just in 10 months! What they do, how they talk, how they look, EVERYTHING! I love this time with them all little and being mommy to them. I know I won't remember everything about these precious years but hopefully I'll write what I might forget... until 2024 when I am finally caught up on my scrapbooks! (hahaha) :o)
One of the quotes in it that got underlined was... "Always make technology work for you and not against you." That just says it. Although the outlet of this blog and the chance to" scrapbook online" was and still is so exciting and important to me, last summer it just became a "to-do" that was too much. I had to let it go for a while.
I was preparing for my first year EVER as a homeschooling mom- so fun, overwhelming, wonderful and scary all at the same time. And growing even more in relationships... with my precious husband of almost 10 years (!), my sister through a very hard time, and my church family. Not to mention, just getting life back to normal after Caleb's surgery and recovery.
So, I had to cut some things... just so I could really take life in. I had to slow down so I wasn't "passin' up more stuff than I was catchin' up to." :o) Ya know what I mean?
And it's been really, REALLY good.
Now, I feel like I can get back to posting every so often.
Tonight, I read through my previous posts and realized how much my kiddoes have changed just in 10 months! What they do, how they talk, how they look, EVERYTHING! I love this time with them all little and being mommy to them. I know I won't remember everything about these precious years but hopefully I'll write what I might forget... until 2024 when I am finally caught up on my scrapbooks! (hahaha) :o)
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Two Pieces of Paper
Last Thursday was the day.... we took our girls for their ultrasounds to rule out UPJ. I was looking forward to having this day behind us, but oh, how I dreaded it, too.
Caleb's healing has amazed me. (If I knew how, I would link his name to the posts about his surgery, but I don't know how. Erin? Sarah? Well, I guess anyone can just scroll down, can't they.... duh.) Anyway, I know from my nursing school days and from my Pediatric ICU nurse sister that kids bounce back fast, but he was jumping on a trampoline two days ago, for Pete's sake. His incision is definitely healed and he is really proud of it. He really enjoys showing it off too, but he's so sweet to ask first if you would like to see it. Then if you agree, he says pointing, "This was for my tubes and this is my cut." And the comments he gets about being brave and tough and strong, just lift his shoulders a little higher each time.
I digress... sorry, I'm so proud of my boy.
Scars on a girl's side is a whole another ball game. Sure, the girls are little. And by the time they might even care, the scars might be faint at the most, but I just really don't want to have to add that to their plate of girl insecurities. (Don't get me or Ali started on that topic!)
Now, that's just the tip of the iceburg. I know it would have been okay and no one is dying here from anything terminal, but it would have been more than tough to walk either (or both, heaven forbid) of my girls through the road of surgery and recovery that we just walked through with Caleb.
The doctors made it clear that this ultrasound was purely "reasonable and prudent", but that it would not be likely for the girls to have UPJ. (From what I've read, it is more common in males.) Nevertheless, ruling it out was "indicated" and would definitely take a load off of us as parents if they were normal.
So, Jason went with the kids and me. They did the ultrasounds at the same time, so he went with Abby, and Caleb and I went with Katey. Katey's sonographer was a intern and did a good job... at everything... even following policy to not tell the parent any information regarding the findings. All I knew is that one of Katey's kidneys was slightly larger than the other according to the measurements I saw her take. And it made my insides sick, and my hands shake. Is that normal?
Abby's sonographer was much less rule-abiding, thankfully :o) and told Jason that she looked completely normal with no sign whatsoever of any abnormality. Thank you, dear Jesus!
I was hoping that our doctor would get word the following day (Friday) and be able to put it all behind us. But, no, the reports were not finished and we had to wait the weekend for the word.
This morning the doctors office called at 8:17, God bless them, and said both girls were normal!! Normal!!! I asked for them to fax the reports to us, just so I could see. I just had to see it. Not that I didn't believe them, I just wanted to see it! And a few minutes later, Caleb and I stood at our fax machine and waited for the fax to come as I tried to explain to him how fax machines work. (That's just hard to put into 5 year old lingo, you know, much less 30 year old lingo :o))
Then, that high pitched fax machine sound (we both startled and jumped)... and two pieces of paper. They both say a lot, but at the bottom, they both say, "Normal exam." Thank you, Jesus!!!!
Today, I read Psalm 5 as C and K played in the sand box. I got to the end where it says,
And, thank you, friends and family, for praying for this!! How blessed we are!
Caleb's healing has amazed me. (If I knew how, I would link his name to the posts about his surgery, but I don't know how. Erin? Sarah? Well, I guess anyone can just scroll down, can't they.... duh.) Anyway, I know from my nursing school days and from my Pediatric ICU nurse sister that kids bounce back fast, but he was jumping on a trampoline two days ago, for Pete's sake. His incision is definitely healed and he is really proud of it. He really enjoys showing it off too, but he's so sweet to ask first if you would like to see it. Then if you agree, he says pointing, "This was for my tubes and this is my cut." And the comments he gets about being brave and tough and strong, just lift his shoulders a little higher each time.
I digress... sorry, I'm so proud of my boy.
Scars on a girl's side is a whole another ball game. Sure, the girls are little. And by the time they might even care, the scars might be faint at the most, but I just really don't want to have to add that to their plate of girl insecurities. (Don't get me or Ali started on that topic!)
Now, that's just the tip of the iceburg. I know it would have been okay and no one is dying here from anything terminal, but it would have been more than tough to walk either (or both, heaven forbid) of my girls through the road of surgery and recovery that we just walked through with Caleb.
The doctors made it clear that this ultrasound was purely "reasonable and prudent", but that it would not be likely for the girls to have UPJ. (From what I've read, it is more common in males.) Nevertheless, ruling it out was "indicated" and would definitely take a load off of us as parents if they were normal.
So, Jason went with the kids and me. They did the ultrasounds at the same time, so he went with Abby, and Caleb and I went with Katey. Katey's sonographer was a intern and did a good job... at everything... even following policy to not tell the parent any information regarding the findings. All I knew is that one of Katey's kidneys was slightly larger than the other according to the measurements I saw her take. And it made my insides sick, and my hands shake. Is that normal?
Abby's sonographer was much less rule-abiding, thankfully :o) and told Jason that she looked completely normal with no sign whatsoever of any abnormality. Thank you, dear Jesus!
I was hoping that our doctor would get word the following day (Friday) and be able to put it all behind us. But, no, the reports were not finished and we had to wait the weekend for the word.
This morning the doctors office called at 8:17, God bless them, and said both girls were normal!! Normal!!! I asked for them to fax the reports to us, just so I could see. I just had to see it. Not that I didn't believe them, I just wanted to see it! And a few minutes later, Caleb and I stood at our fax machine and waited for the fax to come as I tried to explain to him how fax machines work. (That's just hard to put into 5 year old lingo, you know, much less 30 year old lingo :o))
Then, that high pitched fax machine sound (we both startled and jumped)... and two pieces of paper. They both say a lot, but at the bottom, they both say, "Normal exam." Thank you, Jesus!!!!
Today, I read Psalm 5 as C and K played in the sand box. I got to the end where it says,
"But let all who take refuge in You be glad;Thank you, Father, for spreading your protection over us. Any righteousness in us is only from You and I do sing for joy at Your healing of my son and protection over my girls. May we be a blessing to you!
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous;
You surround them with Your favor as with a shield."
And, thank you, friends and family, for praying for this!! How blessed we are!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Toddler Talk
Katey and Abby, my little one, stayed with my parents while Jason and I were in the hospital with Caleb and they did great! But Katey missed her Mama. So, since we've been home, I have found a few reasons to steal her away for an hour or two for her to have some special mama-to-herself-time. And I love to do it, because I can really focus on her and what she is saying. You know, she still says things that I have to have her repeat several times before I understand what it is she's saying. Katey-girl cracks me up. She really has such a great sense of humor. And, she's playful like her Aunt "Dindy" (my sweet little sister Lindsey) and I LOVE IT!!
Today, I took her over to her friend Ansley's 3rd birthday party. On the way, we had this conversation:
Katey: My tummy's hurt.
Me: Your tummy's hurting... I'm sorry.
K: Yeah, my tummy's hurt, my hip's hurt. (with a silly grin on her face. Remember, that's what Caleb called his kidney pain.)
M: It does. Well, we'll just need to see about that.
K: Want go dotor, wike Tawub. (still grinning)
M: Well, we are going to get that checked out on Thursday at the hospital, K? (My girls have renal ultrasounds scheduled to rule out UPJ obstruction.)
K: at the hostital? yeah, want do 'dat. On freesday?
M: no, on Thursday.
K: not twos-day?
M: no, Thursday.
K: not fives-day? not six-day?
M: on Thursday, silly girl!!
At this point we were both laughing. I was laughing because I realized she has her own number names for the days of the week. And I think she was laughing because she had me laughing! Gotta love moments like that!
Today, I took her over to her friend Ansley's 3rd birthday party. On the way, we had this conversation:
Katey: My tummy's hurt.
Me: Your tummy's hurting... I'm sorry.
K: Yeah, my tummy's hurt, my hip's hurt. (with a silly grin on her face. Remember, that's what Caleb called his kidney pain.)
M: It does. Well, we'll just need to see about that.
K: Want go dotor, wike Tawub. (still grinning)
M: Well, we are going to get that checked out on Thursday at the hospital, K? (My girls have renal ultrasounds scheduled to rule out UPJ obstruction.)
K: at the hostital? yeah, want do 'dat. On freesday?
M: no, on Thursday.
K: not twos-day?
M: no, Thursday.
K: not fives-day? not six-day?
M: on Thursday, silly girl!!
At this point we were both laughing. I was laughing because I realized she has her own number names for the days of the week. And I think she was laughing because she had me laughing! Gotta love moments like that!
Monday, May 21, 2007
What a Road!
I kept opening Jason's laptop every night we were in the hospital to blog about the day and Caleb's hard work and brave heart, but I just couldn't find the words or the energy. But, now we are home, and although we're not done with all the hard stuff, we are almost there. And I'm so thankful!
The kidney function tests on May 4th showed that the left kidney seemed to be functioning well, possibly even better than the unobstructed right kidney. (How great is our God!) Caleb's urologist was still a bit cautious and warned us that is was possible for it to be "just a shell" when he saw it for himself. The obstruction would be repaired in surgery that was scheduled for the 15th of May. Over those 11 days of waiting and preparing for surgery, there were hard days and then there were days where he seemed almost normal! But by the Sunday before the surgery, Mother's Day, we were all just ready to get it over with. On top of all he had already been through, he began passing some stones! He was hurting again so much and I wanted it to be over for him. I just wish they could have fixed it without having to cut the precious skin of my baby boy.
My friend, Ali, found a picture I have seen before but forgot about for Caleb to help him have a visual of how Jesus was going to be helping his doctor make him better in surgery. It really helped him to see it. And the song, "Oh no, You never let go" by Matt Redman is a favorite of his, even before this. He asked Jason if we could bring the ipod to the hospital so he could listen to it "because Jesus is not going to let me go." It's amazing to me to have watched his faith grow through this whole ordeal.
On the morning of Tuesday the 15th, he fell peacefully and happily to sleep with the help of Versed and other "happy drugs." With a giggle, he said I had four eyes and two noses and two mouths just before he drifted off. I giggled back as I kissed his sweet forehead and brushed his hair with my fingers and then tried not to cry hard as they wheeled his little bed down the hall to the OR. That moment is one of those moments that I look back at and wonder how people go through things like that without the Lord. The hope of knowing that Caleb is God's child, His masterpiece and I can trust that He holds him and holds me too is what got me through.
We tried to prepare him as much as we could that when he woke after the surgery was over, it would be hard. He would hurt. And we would be there at every step to help him. But, nothing we said could have prepared him for the pain he woke up in. And nothing could have prepared Jason and me for those 5 days we spent in the hospital, at his bedside, helpless to take away the cause of that pain.
Thursday night
He amazed us by standing up by his bed. I was just planning on letting him sit by the side of the bed to go potty. His ambitious, competitive spirit had other plans.
My silly boy figured out that the bottom line on the monitor was his breathing and he intentionally "drew" letter M's, N's, W's, stairs, mountains and valleys with his breaths. Too funny. Who needs crayons, anyway?
The staff at Arnold Palmer Hospital is amazing. I am so thankful for such a wonderful childrens' hospital for such a time as this. This train contraption was brought in for Caleb by one of the Child Life staff who basically facilitate play for the sick kiddoes. She had searched the whole hospital for some kind of train toy the first time he was admitted and found this one. Then, she heard we were back for surgery and brought it by again. Super sweet! It is priceless to me when others love my children. He woke up from a nap and saw it waiting for him on my trundle bed. It was just the motivation he needed to get up and walk for the first time.
Friday night
He had turned the corner on pain managing and we were planning on going home in the morning. Caleb drew a picture of his beloved CSX trains for the nurses to thank them for taking such good care of him.
Saturday the 19th
Ironically one month after first discovering his kidney issue, we are going home!! And can you tell he's happy about it?! I think I was happier, though.
When we got home, my heart melted when my Katey-girl ran at full speed out the door to greet us and was so very happy to see her brother, her playmate and her friend home again. She missed him and it was obvious. I love that my children love to be with each other... most of the time ;O)
The kidney function tests on May 4th showed that the left kidney seemed to be functioning well, possibly even better than the unobstructed right kidney. (How great is our God!) Caleb's urologist was still a bit cautious and warned us that is was possible for it to be "just a shell" when he saw it for himself. The obstruction would be repaired in surgery that was scheduled for the 15th of May. Over those 11 days of waiting and preparing for surgery, there were hard days and then there were days where he seemed almost normal! But by the Sunday before the surgery, Mother's Day, we were all just ready to get it over with. On top of all he had already been through, he began passing some stones! He was hurting again so much and I wanted it to be over for him. I just wish they could have fixed it without having to cut the precious skin of my baby boy.
My friend, Ali, found a picture I have seen before but forgot about for Caleb to help him have a visual of how Jesus was going to be helping his doctor make him better in surgery. It really helped him to see it. And the song, "Oh no, You never let go" by Matt Redman is a favorite of his, even before this. He asked Jason if we could bring the ipod to the hospital so he could listen to it "because Jesus is not going to let me go." It's amazing to me to have watched his faith grow through this whole ordeal.On the morning of Tuesday the 15th, he fell peacefully and happily to sleep with the help of Versed and other "happy drugs." With a giggle, he said I had four eyes and two noses and two mouths just before he drifted off. I giggled back as I kissed his sweet forehead and brushed his hair with my fingers and then tried not to cry hard as they wheeled his little bed down the hall to the OR. That moment is one of those moments that I look back at and wonder how people go through things like that without the Lord. The hope of knowing that Caleb is God's child, His masterpiece and I can trust that He holds him and holds me too is what got me through.
We tried to prepare him as much as we could that when he woke after the surgery was over, it would be hard. He would hurt. And we would be there at every step to help him. But, nothing we said could have prepared him for the pain he woke up in. And nothing could have prepared Jason and me for those 5 days we spent in the hospital, at his bedside, helpless to take away the cause of that pain.
Tuesday afternoon
Post Op but before waking up for the first time
He looked so pitiful to me.
Wednesday the 16th
Up in the chair for the first time. Ouch!!!
I love this picture.
It is what I did instead of blog while we were in the hospital.
For almost 4 days, Caleb wanted my hand and Bru on his hurt side.
He has loved his Bru dog (velveteen style) since he was 8 months old.
Thursday the 17th
After two entire days of a constant grimace because of the pain, the first smile reappeared after a very good rendition of the ABC's in burp language. Gotta love boys and bodily noises! Makes them laugh everytime! I missed that smile so much! I cried happy tears that day!
Post Op but before waking up for the first time
He looked so pitiful to me.
Wednesday the 16thUp in the chair for the first time. Ouch!!!
I love this picture.It is what I did instead of blog while we were in the hospital.
For almost 4 days, Caleb wanted my hand and Bru on his hurt side.
He has loved his Bru dog (velveteen style) since he was 8 months old.
Thursday the 17thAfter two entire days of a constant grimace because of the pain, the first smile reappeared after a very good rendition of the ABC's in burp language. Gotta love boys and bodily noises! Makes them laugh everytime! I missed that smile so much! I cried happy tears that day!
Thursday nightHe amazed us by standing up by his bed. I was just planning on letting him sit by the side of the bed to go potty. His ambitious, competitive spirit had other plans.
My silly boy figured out that the bottom line on the monitor was his breathing and he intentionally "drew" letter M's, N's, W's, stairs, mountains and valleys with his breaths. Too funny. Who needs crayons, anyway?
The staff at Arnold Palmer Hospital is amazing. I am so thankful for such a wonderful childrens' hospital for such a time as this. This train contraption was brought in for Caleb by one of the Child Life staff who basically facilitate play for the sick kiddoes. She had searched the whole hospital for some kind of train toy the first time he was admitted and found this one. Then, she heard we were back for surgery and brought it by again. Super sweet! It is priceless to me when others love my children. He woke up from a nap and saw it waiting for him on my trundle bed. It was just the motivation he needed to get up and walk for the first time.
Friday nightHe had turned the corner on pain managing and we were planning on going home in the morning. Caleb drew a picture of his beloved CSX trains for the nurses to thank them for taking such good care of him.
Saturday the 19thIronically one month after first discovering his kidney issue, we are going home!! And can you tell he's happy about it?! I think I was happier, though.
When we got home, my heart melted when my Katey-girl ran at full speed out the door to greet us and was so very happy to see her brother, her playmate and her friend home again. She missed him and it was obvious. I love that my children love to be with each other... most of the time ;O)Tuesday, May 15, 2007
My Sunshine
You are my Sunshine, my sweet Katey Sunshine. You make me happy, both night and day. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. He didn't take my Sunshine away.
My Katey Grace... my first daughter...now my middle child... she is a miracle. Here's her story... as nutshell as my thankful heart can make it.
We found out she was coming at Thanksgiving. We were so very thankful for a new life and a sibling for Caleb. A few weeks later, I was sitting on the floor of our apartment wrapping Christmas presents and I felt something weird and started bleeding. The doctors told us I was miscarrying.
It was 2 weeks before Christmas, my husband was graduating from Master's school, Caleb was two, and we were packing for a move the week before Christmas. Needless to say, it was a busy time and I felt like I was in a fog the entire time. I was on "bedrest"and in "wait-and-see mode" during our move to our home on the 23rd and then saw my beloved midwife on Christmas Eve for another ultrasound to see if there was anything growing inside. Amazingly, my baby was growing despite the 3/4 of a placenta that had detached from my womb. "Wow... what a resilient little one!" we thought. We had no idea! They reluctantly gave us the news that we didn't want to hear and they didn't want to tell anyone, especially on Christmas Eve. We would probably lose this pregnancy, but if I didn't miscarry, at best, I would be high risk and have to be followed with ultrasounds every 2 weeks.
We prayed and asked God for a miracle for Christmas as we celebrated the miracle of Jesus. Two weeks later, we received His gift of life again. On that ultrasound, we saw a healthy completely reattached placenta and a healthy growing baby with development exactly where she should have been. He chose not to take her, to let her be with us. A miracle, no doubt. Everyone agreed. She grew and formed perfectly and used that placenta for a pillow staying breech until the very last minute. We joked that she was laying on it to hold it onto my uterus until she was ready to meet us.
Now that little one will be three years old this summer. My goodness, I can't believe it!! And when I think about her, my mind is full of images of her smile and sounds of her laugh.
Katey-girl, you fill my life with sunshine when you smile. And you always seem to smile at the most perfect times. Right when this mama needs a little "happy". When we were renovating our leaking brand new house after the '04 hurricanes, your newborn smile and and how you constantly blew raspberries lifted my mood and helped me not be overwhelmed.
I love to stay up late and get stuff done when it's quiet and peaceful, but this does not help me much in the mornings. Even if I went to bed earlier, I'm still not a morning person. I've tried it... well, maybe just a few times, okay maybe twice. But anyway, I just don't feel like talking in the morning for a little bit until my brain realizes that I am out of bed which is usually somewhere around 9:30am. But, you always greet me with a smile when I come get you out of your crib in the morning. And it makes me smile, inside and out.
Your playfulness helps me stay focused on what is really important in our day... having fun and growing together! Not cleaning, organizing and making lists, all of which I can and choose to do too much.
And, now through all this hard stuff with your big brother, you continue to add to my life peaceful, warm, soothing and radiant sunshine. I love you for it. You are gifted with it and I pray you always use it to shine the light of Jesus love into other's lives. You'll never know, dear...
My Katey Grace... my first daughter...now my middle child... she is a miracle. Here's her story... as nutshell as my thankful heart can make it.
We found out she was coming at Thanksgiving. We were so very thankful for a new life and a sibling for Caleb. A few weeks later, I was sitting on the floor of our apartment wrapping Christmas presents and I felt something weird and started bleeding. The doctors told us I was miscarrying.
It was 2 weeks before Christmas, my husband was graduating from Master's school, Caleb was two, and we were packing for a move the week before Christmas. Needless to say, it was a busy time and I felt like I was in a fog the entire time. I was on "bedrest"and in "wait-and-see mode" during our move to our home on the 23rd and then saw my beloved midwife on Christmas Eve for another ultrasound to see if there was anything growing inside. Amazingly, my baby was growing despite the 3/4 of a placenta that had detached from my womb. "Wow... what a resilient little one!" we thought. We had no idea! They reluctantly gave us the news that we didn't want to hear and they didn't want to tell anyone, especially on Christmas Eve. We would probably lose this pregnancy, but if I didn't miscarry, at best, I would be high risk and have to be followed with ultrasounds every 2 weeks.
We prayed and asked God for a miracle for Christmas as we celebrated the miracle of Jesus. Two weeks later, we received His gift of life again. On that ultrasound, we saw a healthy completely reattached placenta and a healthy growing baby with development exactly where she should have been. He chose not to take her, to let her be with us. A miracle, no doubt. Everyone agreed. She grew and formed perfectly and used that placenta for a pillow staying breech until the very last minute. We joked that she was laying on it to hold it onto my uterus until she was ready to meet us.Now that little one will be three years old this summer. My goodness, I can't believe it!! And when I think about her, my mind is full of images of her smile and sounds of her laugh.
Katey-girl, you fill my life with sunshine when you smile. And you always seem to smile at the most perfect times. Right when this mama needs a little "happy". When we were renovating our leaking brand new house after the '04 hurricanes, your newborn smile and and how you constantly blew raspberries lifted my mood and helped me not be overwhelmed.
I love to stay up late and get stuff done when it's quiet and peaceful, but this does not help me much in the mornings. Even if I went to bed earlier, I'm still not a morning person. I've tried it... well, maybe just a few times, okay maybe twice. But anyway, I just don't feel like talking in the morning for a little bit until my brain realizes that I am out of bed which is usually somewhere around 9:30am. But, you always greet me with a smile when I come get you out of your crib in the morning. And it makes me smile, inside and out.Your playfulness helps me stay focused on what is really important in our day... having fun and growing together! Not cleaning, organizing and making lists, all of which I can and choose to do too much.
And, now through all this hard stuff with your big brother, you continue to add to my life peaceful, warm, soothing and radiant sunshine. I love you for it. You are gifted with it and I pray you always use it to shine the light of Jesus love into other's lives. You'll never know, dear...
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