The Unsung Hero

This post is dedicated to the Unsung Hero...to Noly. God made her in such a way that she would provide much laughter and comic relief to our household. He made her laid-back and sensitive. He made her with captivating blue eyes that tell you of guilt before any physical evidence is discovered!

Though once a hater of dressing up in anything scratchy and Princess-like, she would one day become the Dress-Up Queen who surrounded herself with everything Princess. She would wear the most uncomfortable dress all day because it looked beautiful even if it made her skin crawl, though you never would have thought so based on the photo below!

When taken to Build-A-Bear, this little Hero would come up with a concoction that even made the girl behind the counter burst out in laughter. She would then "skate" her little creation named Princess all through the mall, pulling the attention of almost everyone walking by!

She would discover that tu-tu's are made for more than just beautiful skirts; they can also double as hair if you feel that your hair is not pink or fluffy enough! I guess if you had a brown tu-tu, you could dress up as a lion with only a moment's notice?

And if you were this little Unsung Hero named Noly, you would have the biggest heart to deal with a little brother who was difficult to get along with. Even though he screamed until you often ran away covering your ears, you would be back quickly to put your arm around him and offer him your protection and comfort.

I'm so thankful for this little girl!

My Son

20 minutes after birth, I still had not held my son. I watched as they did all of the weighing, the wiping off, etc. Then, they did something strange...they called someone on the phone. I knew it wasn't normal because they did not do that with Noly. I asked what was wrong and told them I wanted to hold my son. They told me I could only look at him and said he was "grunting" and may need a little help breathing. So, a week later, I got to take my baby home from the NICU with paperwork that documented Jule's medical problems...20 minutes after birth.

When Jule reached 4 weeks old, he began to scream for hours on end. I would feed him for an hour, burp him and change him for an hour, lay him down so we could sleep for an hour, and then start all over again. If I didn't burp him for an hour, he would spit up everywhere the minute I put him down. I soon learned something else was wrong with my son...reflux. We often went through 50 burpcloths a day, and he spent most of his time screaming. He was a beautiful baby, and I loved watching as his curly hair appeared; but my heart broke that something was wrong with him.

When he was 5 months old, he woke up with his first case of croup. He was retracting horribly & drooling, and I was so glad when the ambulance arrived. He was admitted to the hospital with a case of complicated croup. Once again, something was wrong with my child. Good thing I didn't know that this would happen over and over again!

Periodically, we would go through normal illnesses like any family does. Jule had 2 sets of tubes, his adenoids removed and continued to have reflux past the age that most babies stop having it. I took great delight in his beautiful ringlets and resisted cutting his hair even though many people thought he was a girl! Isn't that head of hair gorgeous!

Through all of the croup, the ear infections and resulting tubes, the frequent screaming, the speech therapy, I became a Mommy who would have to stand up and fight for the rights of my baby. So, when I went to the p/t conference, I really didn't expect to hear a NEW addition to something is wrong with my child. It has been so overwhelming, and it continues to be overwhelming...though I do have moments where God really ministers peace and strength to me. I know that I will continue to stand up for my child, to fight for his best interests...but I do not really know what that entails right now. I just pray that God gives me the strength I need to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Through it all, God still reigns and is still sovereign.

I know that he is a little sweetheart and I love watching him develop into the person that God has called him to be. I believe the strong-willed part of him will turn out to be one of his greatest strengths as he gets older. I'm praying for peace as we wait for possibly a couple of months to get his developmental assessment. Until then, I want to enjoy him and help him in any way I possibly can. With God's help...

When I Find Him

So much has been going on lately. Each of the kids had a tummy bug, then we went to Disney, then I had a meeting with Jule's teacher, then Jule had croup yet again, then Noly graduated from Preschool. I will get to most of these a little more in depth but will happily leave out details from the tummy bugs ;)

Jule got his tummy bug about 10 days after Noly, and it was the weekend before we were supposed to leave for Disney. Now, in the past, it usually takes about 4-5 days, then Kevin and I are sick. We were worried about getting to Disney and getting sick and not being able to care for the kids in a hotel room. BUT we decided not to live in fear, and off we went! We had a wonderful time and actually stayed out until 1 am one night! I was so glad we chose to go, and it was a happy time out of the house for both of the kids.

We got back on a Tuesday night, and I had a meeting with Jule's teacher and the Preschool's Director on Friday. I was nervous because I figured he would be one of the kids that was put in timeout a lot. Unfortunately, that was not the case. They told me how sweet he was and how beautiful his smile is, and I knew it was not going to be good. They listed off many things about him that they are concerned about. They did not know he could talk and were shocked to learn that he rattles off sentences non-stop at home. He also screams when touching fingerpaints or glue and screams when classmates get into his personal space. I knew by the words they were saying that they think he has some form of autism. This has been such a blow to my heart on many different levels that I cannot even get into on a blog. Our Pediatrician is setting up an appointment with the Developmental Specialists at the Hospital I work with. He does not think Jule has autism but may have some developmental delays from all of the sickness...just like he had some speech delays and needed speech therapy.

Kevin had been out of town and came in Friday night. I was so upset that I was barely able to tell him all that had been said. I told him the basics and went up to bed...exhausted. I was overloaded. I laid down, got comfortable, and then I heard IT....yes, IT...again. Jule woke up crying with croup. I picked him up and got him into the steamy bathroom. It helped the coughing, but the stridor was still pretty bad, so Kevin held him in front of the freezer. That helped enough that we felt his breathing was fine. He had some pretty noticeable stridor all night that night. We were so busy with his health that the weekend came and went, and I was a mess...chest pain, crying, so devastated.

Enter Noly's graduation today. She walked in with her class and stood in front of the auditorium. They sang several songs, and I saw her looking for us but could not catch her attention. There were just too many people. She looked sad but continued to sing. Then, the moment came that she saw us! Her whole face lit up, and she sang the rest of the songs all smiles and kept looking over at us. And it hit me...that is what happened to me Tuesday night. I was so overwhelmed. I put Jule to bed just after 7 because he was still sick. Kevin took Noly to Walmart so I could finally be alone, and I sat down with my Bible and began to read. The reading turned to weeping because God began speaking to me. I cried for awhile, read more, prayed, and I found a peace to walk through what lies ahead. And it's because I found Him. I looked through all of the "mess" around me, and I found the One Who can bring light to my eyes. Psalm 34:5 says, "They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed." Finding where my Father is in the crowd makes all the difference in the world. And while what lies ahead with this new hurdle is a very emotional roller coaster; if I have Him, I have everything I need.