Kristen

My heart is breaking right now. My friend's daughter, Kristen, is very sick in the hospital. She has had a heart condition since birth and has had a pacemaker and bovine valve since she was tiny. She got very sick last week and was escorted to a children's hospital. Her bovine valve was full of infection and had a large clot at the top. Friday, as they were getting ready for surgery, part of the clot broke off and caused a pulmonary embolism. They were able to get her stable enough to then do surgery. They removed the diseased valve and put in a new one, and her heart has been beating on its own, and she was taken off of life support.

Yesterday, she became completely unresponsive, and a scan showed severe brain swelling. They are doing a scan today to check for brain activity. I have known Karrie (Kristen's mom) since I was 4, and it is breaking my heart that they are going through this. Please join with me in praying for this sweet 8-year-old and her family.

Update: Sweet Kristen went to Heaven today. Please pray for her family as they grieve the loss of their daughter/sister.

Still Here

Well, we are still here. After a lice recurrence, the school finally found that there were other children there with lice, sent them home, and sanitized. So far, Noly's head has been clear all week! I'm really hoping it doesn't come back!

Jule is doing well. He is having some sleep issues, which we think are from getting his 2-year molars, but he is generally happy! He now knows tons of animal sounds, and we love asking him what each animal says. He calls Noly, sissy, but pronounces it "sissaaah." She thinks he is trying to call her "Princess." We'll just let her believe that ; )

Kevin had eye surgery to correct his eye muscles. He has always only looked out of one eye at a time, which makes depth perception very difficult. He has had a bit of a rough recovery over the last week, but he is healing more each day. He is still seeing double because his eyes have to retrain his brain to look out of both eyes and see one image. I am excited for him to finally see more clearly!

I have felt like I've been on the brink of insanity with all of the back-to-back sickness, but God has really been ministering to me this week. We've had a little bit of a lull, and I have been able to get alone and spend some time with God and the piano. That really helps me regroup my thoughts and refresh my mind. Physically, I'm still pretty worn out, but spiritually, I am feeling God's hands holding me up.

Jude 1:24 "To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy."

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jule!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Jule!

This picture accurately represents how you came into the world...kicking and screaming! The NICU said you were a feisty one, and they were so right. After a week in the NICU, you came home, and you have brought us much joy!

When you were one, your curls astounded us. We had no idea where you got your curly hair, but we loved it! You were not very excited about cake, but this picture represents your true love for ice cream...or anything chocolate for that matter!Now, you are two! You are saying so many words and understanding so much of what we say. You bring us laughter every day. You are a rough and tumble boy, and you LOVE your mommy more than anything else (well, maybe except for your blankey). You love animals and animal sounds right now and still sleep with hard plastic Disney characters.
Happy Birthday to my second little miracle!

I Really, Really Hate Lice!!!

I really, really hate lice! As I went to lay my head on my pillow, I noticed a piece of my hair...with a nit on it!!! I freaked out! I am allergic to ragweed, so I was told not to use the regular lice removal products that are at Walmart. That meant I had to use Noly's prescription. I ran to two different pharmacies and finally got what I needed. Then, I RAN home and doused my head. I was so disgusted. It didn't seem to do a whole lot for me, and Noly began itching again, so I called the Pediatrician's office.

Friday night, I cut Noly's hair. It was down to her butt, and I just couldn't do it anymore. I was spending every waking moment on lice and nit removal. Then we both covered our hair in olive oil and spent the whole day Saturday with olive oil, saran wrap, shower caps and hats on our heads. Then, we combed through the oil, washed, applied vinegar, combed through that, washed again, blowdried, then combed through AGAIN. After this, Noly finally seemed to stop itching for good, and I haven't seen any new nits. My hair has been a nightmare because I'm mostly doing it myself and can't see if I'm getting all of the nits out. I'm praying that this is the end of it. We used the prescription again on Monday for good measure, but I'm really not sure if it does a good job at all.

In the midst of this, I noticed that Jule had two little blisters on his neck. He was acting fluish all weekend, and he ended up with a total of 6 blisters. The Pediatrician said it may be chicken pox, but he is not sure. Once they get the vaccination, any chicken pox that may hit them has an abnormal presentation. At least he only has 6 little spots, and he slept a LOT this weekend because he didn't feel good. That gave us time for all of the lice treatment.

All of this has me thinking about Job. It seems like we can't catch a breath before the next illness strikes. Now, we are not even getting a day's break in between. I started reading through the book of Job again, and I noticed in the first chapter how another servant would come with bad news while the previous servant was still speaking. Bam, bam, bam, bam...it just kept coming. While I know Job's news was so much more devastating, it felt similar to me....like punch after punch at my heart. I found myself sitting in the bathtub last night thinking, "I hate my life." Don't get me wrong. I love my babies, family, etc, but living with day to day to day sickness has gotten really old. As I got to the 3rd chapter of Job, I found that Job felt the same way. He was cursing the day he was even born.

I have been listening to Hillsong United in the car, and one song stuck out to me. The words are, "I love You more than life itself..." And it occurred to me that, yes, we truly have to love God more than life itself. This life, in this fallen world, can be so difficult. Despite it all, we have to cling to God and love Him more than this life. Without Him, I would not make it through all of this. Without Him, nothing would be worthwhile. I do love Him more than life itself and will carry on...even through lice if need be ; )