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 ; )

I Hate Lice : (

So, while Jule's little nose was still running away but his cough was better, Kevin and I both woke up with horrible colds Saturday morning. The kind where you can barely move, where your whole body aches and it hurts to swallow...yeah, that kind. We made it through the weekend by sitting on the couch and watching DVDs with the kids.

Saturday, I noticed Noly scratching her head. I thought it was from her chicken pox healing since she was only 10 days out from her first symptoms. I kept looking and didn't see anything. Then, Monday night, I looked up "scalp itching after chicken pox" and found nothing. I then entered "Lice," grabbed a flashlight, and headed up to her room knowing what to look for. Sure enough, she has lice!!! Gross!!!

We worked on her hair from then until midnight with the Walmart brand lice shampoo. It worked some, but she kept itching. I took her to the doctor yesterday, and they gave me a prescription lice shampoo. A friend helped me with it last night, and I think it took 2-2.5 hours instead of 4. It seems to have worked much better because she is not itching anymore, but I am on guard. I've bagged the toys, vacuumed, thrown out brushes, washed everything detachable in hot water, and now I wait to see what happens. I have a migraine now, probably from all of the stress and absolute lack of rest while I'm already sick.

I'M SO EXHAUSTED! I'm going to try to rest, but I hate missing work. My head hurting makes it impossible to go look at all the little numbers on the spreadsheets, so I guess sleep wins out. Please pray for us. We need it!

Jule's Diagnosis Is.....

Croup...again. When we got home last night, Jule was whiny. I checked his temperature, and he had a low-grade fever. He was also wheezy whenever he would become active. So, I called the Pediatrician's office and got him in at 7:40. The doctor said he has croup, and she put him on a Steroid to keep his airway open.

Usually, I try to have both kids in bed by 8:30. Since we got to the doctor so late, the three of us were sitting in the Pharmacy parking lot in our jammies waiting for Jule's prescription to be filled at 8:45. Thankfully, the Pharmacist saw how desperate I looked and filled it within 5 minutes! Yay! Jule slept all night but woke up with terrible strider. So, my mother-in-law is home with him today.

Noly got to go back to school today, and the teacher and all of her friends ran up to her and hugged her when they saw her heading to the playground! It is a water day at school, so she should have a lot of fun! I'm glad to have her back at school where she can play with her friends and wear herself out! She's been cooped up for too many days now.

Kevin should be home tonight, which I am so thankful for. I'm relying on Ativan to help me get through all of this. It's just too much, but God is faithful in the midst...continuing to show me His grace in the midst of suffering.

Afternoon Update:
Biblegateway has just been amazing lately. I have been looking at their "verse of the day," and it has been so encouraging to me this week. Today's is: II Thessalonians 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." Amen!

Ever Have One of Those Days....or Months...or Years???

Isaiah 40:31 says, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." I feel so weary, so exhausted. I really need God to renew my strength. It gets so overwhelming constantly taking care of sick kids. I love them, and it is my delight to be their mommy; I'm just so tired.

Jule is definitely sick, but not with chicken pox as far as I can tell. His nose is terribly stuffy and a little runny, and he is feeling miserable. You can see it in his eyes. He cried off and on all through the night. Not to the point that I had to go in and console him, but just enough to wake me up so I knew he was uncomfortable. I checked Noly over last night, and she had a few more bumps. The older ones are looking good and are not itching, so that's good. She is still acting very hyper and naughty, so I'm guessing she is not feeling that great either. I'm so spent from not only 3 weeks non-stop of taking care of sick children but also having either a migraine or a headache for 23 days straight now. It's really, really frustrating. And Kevin is out of town, so I am doing this alone right now.

After a really rough night, I left the house this morning and forgot my cell. So, I turned around and got it and left again. As I pulled out onto the main road to get out of our subdivision, I got pulled over while still in our subdivision. The officer was really nice and knocked the ticket down for me, but this is just all too much on top of each other. Please renew my strength, God.

I have been thinking a lot about II Corinthians 12:9a, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." I'm feeling very weak, and I have been looking for God's grace in these difficult circumstances. This morning, I felt God's grace when the officer only ticketed me for going 5 over instead of the actual 15. He told me he never gives people a break in neighborhoods, but he did for me...and I didn't even ask. I had no excuse, just wasn't paying attention. I also see God's grace in the Pediatrician He has given us. He has gone above and beyond his job to help us out, and he has been there for us through all of these sicknesses. I am very thankful for His grace, and I know that, somehow, His grace and strength will get me through.