Today was our first day back to school. We started out very slowly. A little history, some placement testing, some math, bible...not much really. The kids tested either at grade level, above grade level or improved a grade level or more on everything we tested. The kids were very productive. I was so proud of them all. It was nice to get back into the swing of things at least a little. I don't know when we will get up to full speed but at least we have started.
We had a nurse come in to do blood work and change J's dressings. We are adjusting to our schedule. I hope to get some pictures over the next few weeks as we get school going.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Flowers!!!!
9-6-08
Later that day J was surprised with these beautiful flowers from her "Lita and Lito" (my parents). She was thrilled.
Thanks Mom and Dad! What a beautiful bouquet. As you can see, she loved them!
Later that day J was surprised with these beautiful flowers from her "Lita and Lito" (my parents). She was thrilled.
Thanks Mom and Dad! What a beautiful bouquet. As you can see, she loved them!
A little bit of normal....Saturday
Those of you who frequent the blog know that a favorite summer past time for our family is going to our favorite creek on Sat. mornings with donuts in hand, ready to enjoy breakfast, wading, skipping rocks and just being together as a family. J was feeling so much better and we wanted to give her a little bit of normal so we headed out to the creek.
Skipping rocks is a favorite for all of us.
C is the Skip Rock Champion in our family with 13 skips with one rock!
J knew she couldn't get in the water but wanted to come anyway. She says she always writes better at the creek so she came prepared with notebook and pen in hand! She also did much of the photography.
R was not quite himself that morning.
We found out why a little later that morning. Everything he did was upsetting him. He loves the creek and "accidently" falling in is one of his favorite things to do. However, this time he fell in and burst into tears. He cried all the way to me.I was further down the creek quietly letting the tears flow as I decompressed from the past week. He was inconsolable. I talked with him but he could not stop sobbing.
I asked him if he wanted me to hold him and he said yes. He held on as though he never was going to let me go.
Too often little ones go through a tough family time and go with the flow because they really don't fully grasp the situation or don't know how to express themselves. R never showed that he was upset the entire week his sister was in the hospital and Mom was away. But Sat. it hit him all at once. I just sat and held him as he cried. It broke my heart. We knew he had to feel something or that he was dealing with things in his own way but we missed how deeply it hurt him. We are so thankful we did not miss this. Phillip took these pictures before he fully understood what was going on. I am glad. I am thankful the Lord gave us this opportunity to help him.
It was a great morning all around and the morning ended with much more smiles and a feeling of things definitely getting back to normal.
Skipping rocks is a favorite for all of us.
C is the Skip Rock Champion in our family with 13 skips with one rock!
J knew she couldn't get in the water but wanted to come anyway. She says she always writes better at the creek so she came prepared with notebook and pen in hand! She also did much of the photography.
R was not quite himself that morning.
We found out why a little later that morning. Everything he did was upsetting him. He loves the creek and "accidently" falling in is one of his favorite things to do. However, this time he fell in and burst into tears. He cried all the way to me.I was further down the creek quietly letting the tears flow as I decompressed from the past week. He was inconsolable. I talked with him but he could not stop sobbing.
I asked him if he wanted me to hold him and he said yes. He held on as though he never was going to let me go.
Too often little ones go through a tough family time and go with the flow because they really don't fully grasp the situation or don't know how to express themselves. R never showed that he was upset the entire week his sister was in the hospital and Mom was away. But Sat. it hit him all at once. I just sat and held him as he cried. It broke my heart. We knew he had to feel something or that he was dealing with things in his own way but we missed how deeply it hurt him. We are so thankful we did not miss this. Phillip took these pictures before he fully understood what was going on. I am glad. I am thankful the Lord gave us this opportunity to help him.
It was a great morning all around and the morning ended with much more smiles and a feeling of things definitely getting back to normal.
Rejoice in your sufferings...
Seeing God is hard for some. For me, I have learned to ask to see His hand in my life and in the life of my family and those around us. Over the summer I have been praying about my schedule and activities would could do in the upcoming school year. We were in a co-op for 7years and when I prayed about doing it this upcoming year, God said no. Since I was just getting my feet wet alongside my husband in our newly formed marriage ministry I figured that I would need that free time for ministry. I had the opportunity for an online co-op that I felt was very doable since we would not leave the house and I would only be committed to teaching 4-6 of 36 lessons. That was doable. But, once again I was thrown a curve. God said no. So we dropped the co-op. Once again I was trusting that God knew my future and He was not going to allow me to overwhelm myself. Then, we opened up a very successful marriage class and NO ONE signed up (well, one couple who was training for ministry did). This was very confusing. Now I had lots of free time on my hands. Since I thought the Lord was clearing my schedule for ministry and other circumstances that would take my time I had worked on getting my house in order and school planning through Jan. I am usually a "wing-it" kind of person so this was very unusual for me. So, now my house was in order, school planned, lots of free time but, no ministry, no outside committments, no....anything. But I did trust the Lord though I did ask Him if it was within His will to show me what He was doing. Well, He did. He know that I was going to have a very sick child that I would need to be home with for some time. What a joy to be allowed to see a small part of His plan for us. He knew what was coming and prepared me in as much as I was willing to be obedient to Him.
So what about the "Rejoice in your sufferings"? This is such a hard concept for people to grasp. It has taken many hospitalizations and hardaches for me to begin to grasp this concept. But God truly is good and knows what is best for us.
I have always prayed that my children would learn to know God deeply and intimately. I know that for me that has taken many physical hardships for me to grow in Him. When J was admitted to the hospital I began to pray that she would grow and mature in the Lord through this trial and that she would be able to experience God. I prayed that I would be able to help her see God's hand and presence throughout all she went through. It was a tough week. Time after time she was afraid. Time after time, she asked to pray. We listened to christian music on Godtube. We quoted scripture to help her reach out and trust God's hand. J went from a happy-go-lucky teen one day to a very sick, in pain, and frightened young lady the next. She was given very little notification for some pretty scary tests and surgery. No time to prepare, fearful of the unknown, tired, worn out and in pain. But, she trusted the experience God had given me over the years with hospitalizations and surgery. At every turn I knew her only hope for getting through this was focusing on Jesus. So at every turn I pointed her to Him. She showed such strength of character as she was so frightened but cried out to God. She sought prayer, comfort in songs that reminded her that God would never leave her or forsake her. She questioned God but never in disrespect, only in confusion with a willingness to accept His will.
There truly are very few ways to learn to lean on God except in those circumstances that test you physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I watched my daughter cling to the Lord and learn to trust in a way that only suffering can truly bring. It broke my heart to watch her go through this. But the Lord let my heart soar as she clung to Him.
Watching your child in pain and frightened and exhausted when you cannot do anything to stop it is more pain than I ever care to bear again. But, I can rejoice in my suffering as I saw her get one step closer to God. I pray that she will one day truly be able to rejoice through her struggles in life though I pray they are minimal.
There is so much in which I can rejoice. God was with her through this whole ordeal and showed us His fingerprints over and over again. His Spirit was prompting me from the beginning and we caught this early. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I ignored those promptings. I am thankful that I was listening because I don't always. But I was listening this time because He had been preparing me for over a year to listen more closely. His hand is everywhere if we are willing to look for it. Thank you Lord that you were patient enough to help me learn to see. Thank you that you are letting me see a glimpse of how you are working in J.
God truly is so good. All the Time!
So what about the "Rejoice in your sufferings"? This is such a hard concept for people to grasp. It has taken many hospitalizations and hardaches for me to begin to grasp this concept. But God truly is good and knows what is best for us.
I have always prayed that my children would learn to know God deeply and intimately. I know that for me that has taken many physical hardships for me to grow in Him. When J was admitted to the hospital I began to pray that she would grow and mature in the Lord through this trial and that she would be able to experience God. I prayed that I would be able to help her see God's hand and presence throughout all she went through. It was a tough week. Time after time she was afraid. Time after time, she asked to pray. We listened to christian music on Godtube. We quoted scripture to help her reach out and trust God's hand. J went from a happy-go-lucky teen one day to a very sick, in pain, and frightened young lady the next. She was given very little notification for some pretty scary tests and surgery. No time to prepare, fearful of the unknown, tired, worn out and in pain. But, she trusted the experience God had given me over the years with hospitalizations and surgery. At every turn I knew her only hope for getting through this was focusing on Jesus. So at every turn I pointed her to Him. She showed such strength of character as she was so frightened but cried out to God. She sought prayer, comfort in songs that reminded her that God would never leave her or forsake her. She questioned God but never in disrespect, only in confusion with a willingness to accept His will.
There truly are very few ways to learn to lean on God except in those circumstances that test you physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I watched my daughter cling to the Lord and learn to trust in a way that only suffering can truly bring. It broke my heart to watch her go through this. But the Lord let my heart soar as she clung to Him.
Watching your child in pain and frightened and exhausted when you cannot do anything to stop it is more pain than I ever care to bear again. But, I can rejoice in my suffering as I saw her get one step closer to God. I pray that she will one day truly be able to rejoice through her struggles in life though I pray they are minimal.
There is so much in which I can rejoice. God was with her through this whole ordeal and showed us His fingerprints over and over again. His Spirit was prompting me from the beginning and we caught this early. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I ignored those promptings. I am thankful that I was listening because I don't always. But I was listening this time because He had been preparing me for over a year to listen more closely. His hand is everywhere if we are willing to look for it. Thank you Lord that you were patient enough to help me learn to see. Thank you that you are letting me see a glimpse of how you are working in J.
God truly is so good. All the Time!
Homecoming 9-5-08
We were able to come home Friday morning. We finished up planning our home health care and her last dose of antibiotics to time our antibiotics at home and off we went. Here she is being greeted by her siblings and TACO!
Everyone was so excited to see her. We moved a bed downstairs so we could administer her meds in the night without waking anyone else.
It is so nice to be home and have all my kiddos under one roof again!
Everyone was so excited to see her. We moved a bed downstairs so we could administer her meds in the night without waking anyone else.
It is so nice to be home and have all my kiddos under one roof again!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
A Week in the Hospital
9/4/08
What a week we have had. J has been in the hospital since Sat. She was one sick young lady. After many tests,x-rays, blood tests and confused doctors, we have figured out that she has osteomyelitis. This is an infection of the bone. The collar bone in J to be more specific. She also has an infection in the skin, muscles and facia (layer between the skin and muscle) surrounding the bone. She has had 2 surgeries to help clean out this infection and has been on pretty high dose IV antibiotics.
How did she get this infection? We have no idea. The doctors were stumped and said it was very rare to get an infection in the collar bone. She was the object of much discussion in the hospital.
We were blessed with fabulous doctors, nurses and staff in all areas of the hospital.
The good news is "WE ARE GOING HOME!!!!!" We have 2 more doses of antibiotics and then we will go home and change to home health care. J will continue to receive IV antibiotics for the next 10 days and then hopefully we can switch to oral meds.
It has been a long, hard week. She has gone from being so sick and in pain that our main concern was finding a way to get her some relief. Her fevers were so high we had to ice her down and she was isolated because of the infection. But she is now back to her smiling, laughing self. We are both almost giddy at getting to go home tomorrow. Here are some pictures of her and her Dad goofing around after finding out we were going home. It is so good to see this smile again.
Thank you to everyone who prayed continuously for her healing. We have been so blessed by your prayers, visits, phone calls, gifts, encouragements etc. etc.
We praise God for His care and provision for us this past week. We thank God that we will be back together with Phillip and the kids. We were blessed with a perfect peace as we endured this trial. We serve an awesome God. Thank you to everyone who was "Jesus with skin on" to us this past week. We still have a long road ahead of us but the worst is over.
What a week we have had. J has been in the hospital since Sat. She was one sick young lady. After many tests,x-rays, blood tests and confused doctors, we have figured out that she has osteomyelitis. This is an infection of the bone. The collar bone in J to be more specific. She also has an infection in the skin, muscles and facia (layer between the skin and muscle) surrounding the bone. She has had 2 surgeries to help clean out this infection and has been on pretty high dose IV antibiotics.
How did she get this infection? We have no idea. The doctors were stumped and said it was very rare to get an infection in the collar bone. She was the object of much discussion in the hospital.
We were blessed with fabulous doctors, nurses and staff in all areas of the hospital.
The good news is "WE ARE GOING HOME!!!!!" We have 2 more doses of antibiotics and then we will go home and change to home health care. J will continue to receive IV antibiotics for the next 10 days and then hopefully we can switch to oral meds.
It has been a long, hard week. She has gone from being so sick and in pain that our main concern was finding a way to get her some relief. Her fevers were so high we had to ice her down and she was isolated because of the infection. But she is now back to her smiling, laughing self. We are both almost giddy at getting to go home tomorrow. Here are some pictures of her and her Dad goofing around after finding out we were going home. It is so good to see this smile again.
Thank you to everyone who prayed continuously for her healing. We have been so blessed by your prayers, visits, phone calls, gifts, encouragements etc. etc.
We praise God for His care and provision for us this past week. We thank God that we will be back together with Phillip and the kids. We were blessed with a perfect peace as we endured this trial. We serve an awesome God. Thank you to everyone who was "Jesus with skin on" to us this past week. We still have a long road ahead of us but the worst is over.
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