Celebrations Galore...

For those of you that follow our blog regularly, thank you for sticking with us and I apologize for the brief hiatus.  We have had some pretty awesome, jam-packed weekends the past two weeks, making it almost impossible to find the time to do the many special moments justice.  Here is a quick rundown of what we've been up to...

-Abigail turned 8 years old two weeks ago!  Here is what I posted about her on Facebook on her birthday:

I can't believe that Abigail is 8 years old today (time has gone so fast) and I can't believe she's only 8 years old today (the Lord has grown her so much over the past 8 years, at times she is wise beyond her years)! There is so much that I admire about this kid (not because we are great parents, but because God is great) from her love for others (especially those with special needs) to her work ethic, and forgiving heart. I'm a better person for getting to be her mommy that's for sure. My prayer is that God would protect Abigail's sweet heart from being consumed or crushed by the "world" and that she would always find her identity and joy in Christ alone.

Abigail is the type of kid that doesn't ever ask for ANYTHING and if you ask her for gift ideas she can almost never think of anything besides... a long dress (that's the one thing she consistently thinks of) or new soccer cleats that don't have pink on them because the ones she used this season were hand-me-downs, so she didn't get to chose the color.  Since she is so low maintenance from that stand point, and doesn't like us to spend money on her unnecessarily, we racked our brains trying to think of something that we could do to bless her... She has had the same room decorations for the past 5 years and while she wouldn't ask for it on her own (even after Andrew got his room redone earlier this year) we knew she would love a new "big girl" room that is decorated with special touches, all of which I can't do because I don't have a creative or crafty bone in my body.  However, I do know the sweetest, most thoughtful, and crafty people on the planet...  our decorators (their company name is Frills)!!!  We met them when we first moved to Texas 9 years ago and they have not only decorated many houses/rooms for us over the years, but they have blessed us in countless other ways along our journey from late night texts of encouragement when I was feeling broken, missing, and worrying about Grace and David in Boston, to making sure that our big kids had extra special blessings around Christmas (as they too were missing their daddy and sissy) just to name a few.  We surprised Abigail with her new room on her birthday and she could hardly believe her eyes... I couldn't either!  I knew they were great, but her room exceeded my expectations...

 Another view of her seating area...

It has been a tradition for the past few years that for Abigail's birthday we go camping with our dear friends (which includes her best friend).  Well, we started Abigail's birthday (which fell on Sunday of Memorial weekend) just before 6:00 am with the ear piercing phone emergency alerts for a tornado warning, so we woke everyone up and ate donuts in the teeny kids bathroom (that is in the middle of the house) for about 40 minutes.  We actually had a great time hanging out in there, it just made for a very early start to the day. Due to the torrential down pour and flooding we had to change our plans at the  last minute from camping to "glamping" in a hotel room.  She still had a super special birthday with an impromptu scavenger hunt, swimming, movies, and lots of laughs.

Lots of swimming...

Scavenger hunt fun...

Yummy dinner and more time with friends...

"Glamping" ended up being a blast...

-We got to celebrate four family members birthday the following weekend, one of which was David's dad's 70th birthday.  We surprised him with a morning at Top Golf with just the grown ups and to celebrate Abigail we rented out an indoor soccer field and had a grown ups versus kids game that was a BLAST for all!  Let's just say that the 70 year old birthday boy was the MVP as he played like a 20 year old, diving for balls to running at people like a freight train.  So grateful he didn't hurt himself or anyone else (especially a kid)...  no seriously, I was praying about that the whole game!  We also got to celebrate Allen, our brother-in-law's, birthday (who has the same birthday as Abigail), as well as our nephew Caden's birthday!  It was a great celebration all around!

Team youngsters...

Team old folks...

Even Grace scored a goal...

Top Golf...

-Grace had her first gymnastics class which was such a highlight for me because it was further evidence that she is alive and thriving (there was a time when I didn't think I would ever get to see toddler Grace).

-We finally heard back from Grace's Dr.'s in Boston!  They said that the valve is definitely narrowing, but they don't think it's time to intervene yet.  Praise the Lord!  The other blessing is that in my communication back and forth with her cardiologist in Boston, I was reminded about how much he loves Grace and is committed to looking out for her and us in every way possible.  We have our next cardiology clinic appointment in two weeks where they will take another look at the gradient across her valve.  Village, will you please pray that the gradient is the same or even lower than before and that we could buy even more time until going back to Boston?  Thanks in advance our faithful prayer warriors!

-Both of the kids are on swim team, which has kept us very busy with 5-6 days a week practice, but I'm blown away by how much the kids love it, especially Andrew, because they work them hard and he is our kid that doesn't always want to push himself too hard.  In fact, another odd blessing is that this is the first sport that Andrew is better than Abigail at.  While they aren't overly competitive with each other at all, it is very apparent that Abigail can smoke him at anything that involves running (not only is he 18 months younger than her, but she's just naturally fast, so he doesn't have a chance).  They have their first swim meet tomorrow!

-The kids had their last day of school this week!  Here is what I posted on Facebook:

"So, I can't believe that I'm not at all emotional about Andrew graduating Kinder and Abigail 2nd grade. Instead, I'm blown away by God's goodness and faithfulness in hand picking the two most phenomenal and perfectly matched teachers for each of our kiddos (and really our whole family smile emoticon. What an amazing year!!!"

Seriously, these teachers have cultivated a love for learning in Abigail and Andrew, but have loved them well and ministered to them all along the way.  We are proud of Abigail for making honor roll and Andrew got the Mr. Goodbar award (Kindergardeners get "candy bar" awards) that said "You are a true gentleman!  You are a good friend, a good helper, and a good role model!"

 Abigail's sweet class (she's in the top row on the far right)...

We now officially have a 1st and 3rd grader!!!

-So, you know how hot it's been here in Texas, right?  In case you don't, it's been in the 90's and our two year old A/C unit went on strike and our house got REALLY HOT, really fast.  The service people couldn't come out for over 24 hours later, so we had to stay the night at my parents house and try to stay out of the house as much as possible because it was unbearable at 88 degrees.  We set up fans and of course, fans on the floor with a toddler named Grace had me mortified, so I had what I thought was a brilliant idea (I don't get those very often, so I'm owning this one :-).  She is used to standing on a piece of tape on the floor with her name on it at school, so I put a piece of tape with her name on it, on the floor at a safe distance from the fan and explained to her that if she wanted to stand in front of the fan she had to stand on her name.  We practiced a few times and she not only complied like a champ, but she loved it!  She would call one of our names, run to her piece of tape, stand on it and clap saying "yaaaayyyyy!"  Then she would want each of us to do it too.  

Despite the major inconvenience of not having A/C in Texas, God gave us many teachable moments throughout the process.  We got to talk abut and reflect on how blessed we are to live in this amazing country where we have so much more than we need.  We talked about how so many people in other countries don't have nearly the same comforts as we do and yet they have so much gratitude for what they do have.  In one of our efforts to stay out of our HOT house, the kids, my mom, and I went out to eat.  While we were there, I have no earthly idea how it even came up, but we ended up having an amazing 40 minute discussion about God's design for dating, marriage, and sex (all topics that we have discussed plenty of times, but they were especially engaged this time)...  yep, I said it, my 6 and 8 year old know about sex (don't worry, they know full well that they aren't suppose to talk to other kids about it :-) thanks to an amazing, VERY age appropriate curriculum called "God's Design for Sex."  We have only been through the first two books of the series so far.  Despite my best efforts to make sure that the kids used quiet voices, I can't help but wonder if a family a few tables down heard some of our conversation (the parents that is, they had a baby and toddler) and thought that I was a crazy parent, but I just couldn't miss one of those valuable "shoot the gap moments." I didn't make up the term, I heard it in a parenting training and it stuck with me :-)

What is Shooting the Gap?

A term that describes the attempt of a defensive linemen or linebacker to gain leverage and pass rush through the space or "gap" in the offensive line. 

You know those moments when your kiddos, out of nowhere, will ask a very deep/loaded question, full of teachable moments and you don't know when and if you will have their undivided attention about the very important subject again.  So, you answer their question and all those that come after until the "gap" slams closed and they go back to their silly business.  I wish I could tell you details about our conversation because you would both die laughing and be encouraged that kids can totally grasp and handle an age appropriate discussion about these important topics (it's WAY more awkward for the parents than the kids, I promise :-). It is important to us that the kids hear about these topics from a biblical perspective before they hear about it anywhere else and that it's an ongoing, evolving conversation as they get more mature.  

Now that you probably think we are the craziest parents in the world... we hope that you have a blessed week!  

Grace just wanted you to know that she's thinking about you and pondering what an amazing Village you are!  (((hugs)))

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)))