Mother's Day-today...

Missed you the past couple of weeks...

I hope that everyone had a blessed Mother's Day!  I seriously loved my hand made cards and gifts from the kiddos, especially since the big kids are at an age where they can specifically express what's in their little hearts and minds.  We decided to surprise my Mother-in-love at church on Mother's Day which was a huge treat because we are terrible at keeping surprises, but we actually pulled this one off.  We spent the rest of the day playing at the park and eating at Gramaldi's (super yummy pizza).

-Abigail and Andrew are both on our neighborhood swim team this year and to our surprise they actually love practicing 5 days a week and working hard for 40 minutes straight!

Here is "the boss" coaching and cheering her Bubba and Tither on from her shaded chair...

-We are continuing to wait (sort of patiently) to hear back from Grace's Dr.'s in Boston as to when we need to go back to have her valve dilated.  We are praying that no news/delayed news is good news, but the waiting can be hard because we want to plan...  Will you please continue to pray for wisdom for her Dr.'s and that Grace continues to do well?  THANK YOU!

-We had Grace's quarterly liver labs drawn (she had a random liver injury at one week old that requires us to follow up with a liver specialist to make sure that it is stable and not getting any worse) and her liver team said that her numbers were all within normal range!  Praise the Lord!!!

-We had Grace's IIP meeting at her school (I'm not even sure what IIP stands for, but it's where we go over her previously set goals, establish new goals, plan for the next year, etc).  We were elated to hear about all of the goals that she has met and exceeded, so much so that she is going to be transitioning to a 3-6 year old curriculum shortly.  That is certainly praiseworthy news for our little Gracie and her Designer genes :-). In case I haven't mentioned it lately, we are SO VERY grateful for The Rise School!  Each person at Grace's school plays such an intricate part of our village, as do each of you reading this post right now :-).

-Yesterday both of the kids final soccer games of the season were cancelled because of soggy fields, so we made a last minute decision to meet some friends at the beach.  It was such a treat to get to see the big kids riding waves and Grace loving the sand, waves, and birds.  Of course, none of us had our phones on the beach, so no pics of the beach fun, but here are some pics of some pool fun that took place before and after the beach.

-Last night we went to a crawfish boil where this giant dog stole Grace's heart!  Most of you know that Grace LOVES all things "dogs"!  You can imagine her delight when she laid eyes on this giant, sweet, slobbery, teddy bear of a dog!  She didn't want to leave his side all evening!

-Abigail was asked to dismiss the Hi-5 kids (the 1st-5th grade kids) from worship in the sanctuary to go to children's church and share what they will be learning including the memory verse for the month.  We were so proud of her for getting up in front of the whole church without being nervous.  I was reminded of how sweet her innocence is that she isn't yet concerned about what others think, or the possibility of failure, you know the kind of "stuff" that can so often keep us in bondage or distracted from being used by God.  My prayer has been that God would preserve that innocence and that she would always perform for an audience of One.  It also helps that we have a church full of great encouragers that do an amazing job of making sure that she (we) know that we are loved and supported no matter what :-).

(((hugs))) to you, Village!!!

Let's celebrate!!!

A lot has happened since my last post, so here goes what I intend to be a quick update (no promises on the quick part though :-)...

-Wednesdays have turned into a day of unexpected drama for Grace- three weeks ago on Wednesday, one of Grace's teachers had to do the Heimlich on her, the next Wednesday she split her nose (the little part that connects your lip to your nose) to where her pediatrician thought it would need stitches, however, the ER was able to glue it, and this past Wednesday she was diagnosed with pneumonia.  We are really praying that this next week is uneventful!  

A star by day (don't you wear sunglasses in the bath tub?) and a super hero by night!

-Andrew had his Kindergarten field trip to the zoo where he hung out with one of his sweetest little friends.  These two are just too precious!  We might just be warming up to the idea of arranged marriages :-)

-"The Boss," also known as Grace (that is my new name for her because she walks so confidently, chest out and with a swagger wherever she goes as if she owns the place), has been singing a lot lately which has really blessed this momma's ears.  For some reason, I was eagerly and anxiously waiting and wondering when she would start trying to sing (or rap- remember Grace's favorite music is Christian rap), especially since she LOVES music so much and the time has come, it was so worth the wait!

-Wait for it....  David officially graduated from seminary!!!  

The church that the graduation ceremony was held at couldn't have been a better fit, since they have a row of parking adorned with this sign (in case you can't read it, it says "special needs parking"), which came in very handy as we were running late, and for worship they had amazing gospel music (which is a family favorite)!

After graduation we celebrated with crawfish and a tickling/wrestling match!

 The ceremony was 2 hours long which made me a little concerned for how long the Boss would hold on, but she was entranced by the music, clapping and cheering for all of the graduates as they were individually called, and then her sissy got her to sleep during the sermon.  Praise the Lord!!!

WOW!  What a labor of love school has been!  I couldn't be more proud of him as I have watched him stretch himself in such selfless ways as he would constantly choose time with his family over studying/writing papers.  This prioritization would require him to squeeze in school work while the kids are at school, staying up to wee hours of the morning to finish assignments (and then still getting up early the next morning with the rest of the family), writing papers from Grace's hospital room, which seemed like a pointless task at times because she hardly slept in the hospital and when she was awake she needed her daddy's full attention, and lastly he selflessly took semesters off of school when needed in order to be a fully present daddy for Grace while she was very sick for two and a half months in Boston.  For so long, we have wondered what exactly God has in store for David and our family once he was done with school and, while we still don't have many definitive answers, God is revealing His plan already and it's pretty exciting.   I also firmly believe that "for such a time as this" David was in seminary to prepare him for the most important ministry, shepherding our family through the toughest time in our lives thus far, and I know that God will continue to use David to lead us through the crazy that is undoubtably in our future (remember there is never a dull moment in our lives and if it feels like we might be approaching one, we get a little antsy since that is no longer our normal).  Most of you are very familiar with all that God has done in the life of our family over the past 3 years, but I wanted to share with you a glimpse of the hope that is found in Christ when it feels like your world is crumbling around you.  This hope is for YOU too!  

To be honest, I'm sort of mortified at the thought of posting this because I hate to see myself on camera, much less the rest of you see me on camera, but I have to remember that it's not about me, this is God's story and I want Him to get all the glory.  This video was played at church on Easter Sunday during a sermon titled "If not for Grace."  Clearly the title and message was/is all about God's grace (unmerited favor) and the hope that can be found in His grace, but it's pretty fitting that our little genetically enhanced, broken hearted daughter is named, Grace :-).

https://youtu.be/e-0f1MAJlew

-Andrew and Abigail told David that for his graduation present they would both score a goal at their soccer games for him and they both held up to their commitment.

*Prayer request- We are still waiting to hear back from Grace's doctors in Boston as to when we need to go back there for her valve to be dilated.  Will you please continue to pray for all of those details and that our Wednesday extravaganzas with Grace (or any of the other kiddos for that matter) don't continue?

I totally failed on the "quick" part of this post, so I apologize for that!  Thank you for hanging on until the end and for always standing in the gap for our family!  We love and appreciate you! 

Grace continues to keep it real...

Well, I guess Grace wanted to make sure that you didn't think that she was letting life get too boring...

On Wednesday, I got a call from Grace's teacher that she had choked on a piece of chicken!  One of her teachers sprung into action and did the baby heimlich maneuver on her and it wasn't until she lifted up her feet, so that she was inverted, that the chicken piece came flying out.  She proceeded to throw up and looked pale and sweaty.  David rushed to get her from school to make sure that she was alright and there was no need for us to take her to the ER (in the event that her color hadn't returned, etc).  The precious teacher that sprang into action rocked her to sleep until David got there because it was nap time and she didn't want to lay her down.  Once David got there she perked up and by God's grace seemed to be alright, besides the red dots around her eyes, etc from the force of choking or throwing up :-(.

Grace sitting in her cubby at school...

Both of the big kids soccer games were cancelled this weekend, so we took the opportunity to go swimming!

In addition to "helping" Abigail play Super Mario Brothers...

Grace has been telling us when she needs to go potty and when we sit her on the potty she actually goes! So proud of this little rascal!

We are still waiting to hear back from Grace's cardiologist in Boston with a decision as to when she needs to go back to Boston to dilate her valve in the cath lab.  Will you please keep praying for wisdom, peace and favor throughout the process?

Thank you, sweet Village!

12 years!!!

With all the excitement of Easter and Abigail's baptism last week, I forgot to mention that Grace had a cardiology appointment this week.  Here is an update from her appointment:

Praises first :-)- This was our first attempt at an unsedated echo (keeping a 2 year old still for an hour while they take many pictures of her heart sounded impossible) and by God's grace... it was a success!  She screamed at first which caused us to doubt that it was going to work, but it was as if God's peace came over her in an instant and she, out of nowhere, was completely calm and stayed that way throughout the whole echo.  Since she didn't have to be sedated we were able to take her to school after her echo (which was also a huge praise because she LOVES school and it allowed me to pick her up after school to take her to see her cardiologist to talk about the echo results).

The other praise came when I took her back that afternoon to see her cardiologist and she had to have an X-ray. We have to hold her down with her arms over her head and then turn her on her side for the second picture. Grace started out screaming at the top of her lungs to the point I was afraid she would make herself sick, I started to sing her the song "Amazing Grace" (that is the main song I would sing her day in and day out in the hospital, whether she was sedated or awake) and again at that moment God's amazing peace came over her and she was silent and content.  The two nurses doing the X-ray said "I have never seen anything like that before, that was amazing" which was another opportunity to boast on God :-).

Prayer request- The gradient across her mitral valve is higher (it went from 6 to 9), the valve looks more narrow, and the pressure in her right ventricle is elevated (because of the valve).  A gradient of 9 isn't an emergency by any means, but something that our cardiologist definitely wants to talk to our Dr.'s in Boston about to see if they would prefer to dilate the valve now or wait.  The hard part is that Grace is only the 20th child to have this type of valve in the mitral position, so there isn't a protocol in place to follow (they're still learning about the process)...  it's more of a guessing game, but the good news is that God knows.  Will you please continue to pray for wisdom for both our Texas and Boston Dr.'s to know when to plan a heart catheter to dilate the valve and that when ever that time is, that God would take care of all of the details and give us His peace that surpasses comprehension (especially Abigail and Andrew because they get very sad when thinking about Grace having to go back to Boston)?

Today, David and I celebrate 12 years of marriage (17 years together total)!  

This is how we celebrated this weekend...  Andrew's soccer game was canceled due to the weather, so we started the weekend with Abigail's hard fought soccer game.  Her team had to play a person down, the other team had 4 subs, and at least three of the girls on the other team were 3 times bigger than Abigail and they used their size in a big way (a modern day version of David and Goliath).  We talk and pray about how God created Abigail tiny, but mighty (in His strength) and she most certainly courageous in His strength in Saturday's game.  Then, my dad and step-mom took the kiddos for the night while we had a wonderful overnight getaway.  Our original plan was to go camping, but the weather had other plans, so we had to rough it at the St. Regis instead (David found us a great deal because he knows that I can't enjoy myself if we have to break the bank to get there :-).  

When God created David He broke the mold making him one in 7.2 billion to be exact :-).  I'm one grateful, undeserving girl to get to be his wife and partner on this Divinely designed roller coaster!

He's our real life super hero!

Village, thank you so much for your prayerful support!  (((hugs)))

A moment etched in our heart for life...

I was way too exhausted last weekend to post on the blog because we had one of the busiest weekends ever and this weekend was no different; however, I have to share with y'all some life changing moments that have taken place of the past two weeks...

Today, we celebrate that Jesus is Risen! He is not dead, He's surely alive!  On this super special day in history we celebrate that Jesus conquered death after paying the penalty for the sins of the world (past, present, and future) on the cross of Calvary. I just want to encourage you that if you have accepted Jesus' sacrifice on your behalf, you can overcome anything because He overcame!  

This day will be a treasured memory that will be etched in my mind forever...  Abigail got baptized!  As David said before he baptized her, she professed her faith in Christ at a very young age and there were times when we were taken back that a little person could truly accept, love, and trust in Jesus so early in life, so we have just prayed and watched for fruit as evidence of her faith.  Over the past 3-4 years we have seen her faith tested and grow as she has clung to the Lord through the toughest of times (when she was worried about Grace and missing her and her daddy), and give Him the glory for all of the good in her life. She has a childlike faith that drives her to share the good news of the gospel with others and rally all prayer warriors when something is heavy on her heart.  Her baptism didn't save her, that happens when profession of faith in Christ happens (prior to baptism), however sharing her profession of faith via baptism in front of her family, church family, and friends was certainly a joyous moment this Easter.  

 Abigail got to sign the horse trough that she was baptized in...

What a blessing that all of our family (minus Uncle Allen) was present to celebrate this special event in Abigail's life...

My Sis-in-loves...

The crazy cousins...

Yesterday, we had the cousins Easter celebration which is always a treat to get to see how much they all love being together.  Grace LOVED the Easter egg hunt!  You know that we have been practicing, so she not only nailed it, but she was especially excited that these eggs were filled with her new found passion...  chocolate!

Let the egg hunt begin...

More fun at the cousins house in the country...

Last weekend we participated in the Superhero Heart Run to celebrate our very own superhero, Gracie Doo, and all of the other heart heroes out there!  We just assumed that we would all be walking a 2K as as a family until Abigail heard them announce that the 5K runners were going to head out first.  She quickly tuned to us and said, I want to do the 5K for Grace.  David offered to run with her (since she is too fast for me) and off they went.  She completed her first 5K in under a 9 minute pace! David said that he kept thinking, surely she is going to need to slow down or walk any minute now, but she pushed on running the whole thing saying to herself "I can do this, it's nothing compared to what my sissy has been through!"  So proud of her!

Grace went to the birthday party of one of her besties that she met at Family Camp and who happens to live around the corner from us.  The party was at a giant playscape (it was a great form of physical therapy for her) and she was fearless climbing on all of the contraptions; however, this meant that I had to climb up, over, and through all the crazy obstacles right behind her (my little helper, Abigail, was at a soccer game at that time so I was on my own :-).  The sweetest part of this experience came when Grace would get through one obstacle she would sit down, look back at me, and start cheering "gooooo mommy...  gooooo mommy!"  Once I made it to where she was she would take off to the next obstacle.  She did this every time and if there was another child near nearby she would cheer for them too.  What a humbling picture...  It takes way more effort, coordination, and determination for her to accomplish each obstacle than typical kids (or for me for that matter), however, God used her to cheer the rest of us on.  

Sweet Village, hope y'all had a blessed Easter weekend! (((hugs))) and kisses to ya...