Happy Birthday Addie!!

On the eve of turning 2
I can loudly say "no!"
On the eve of turning 2
I am ready to go.
Though I mostly roll and crawl
I can get quickly down the hall!

On the eve of turning 2
My hip has no brace.
On the eve of turning 2
My feet are held firmly in place.
I stand in my stander to practice bearing weight
Can't wait to walk and see my new gait!

On the eve of turning 2
my arm can go up!
On the eve of turning 2
I can hold my own cup!
My fingers are better at grasping my spoon.
Feeding myself feels like I am on the moon!

On the eve of turning 2
My past has been rough!
On the eve of turning 2
I know I am getting tough!
My brothers love to make me smile.
Especially when we play dog pile!

On the eve of turning 2
God is using me!
On the eve of turning 2
I am a miracle to be!
God has been faithful and true.
I know that He loves me and He loves you too!

Addie, Addie, Addie

Our sweet little girl is such a trooper! We are on our last day of her 2 week program of casting her good arm. The Thursday before we started this program we tested out the cast and she freaked out! Sunday November 15 the day before we started the casting we had Addie anointed. God answered! Addie has not cried at all because of her cast. She has been such a good sport through it all. This week we have therapy 3x again in order to spend the week working on using both arms together more. I think we will also try and do a few measurements to see how much use of her arm she has gotten from this casting process. The hope was that by her having to use her left arm she would strengthen it allowing her more mobility.
We also had some crazy stuff happen this week. On Tuesday Addie woke up with blue hands, lips, and feet. It was scary and I had to rush her to the ER. We spent most of the day there so they could watch her hear rate and oxygen levels. They also did an X-ray to make sure she did not have pneumonia. They could not find a cause for her blueness but since it had gotten better by the time we got to the hospital and her heart rate and oxygen levels stayed good while she played and while she slept they determine she was probably just cold. It was scary to go home and that night I checked her many times during the night to make sure she was still breathing. They said the littler the children are the easier it is for their blood vessels to close up and turn the the extremities blue but that had never happened before!
This week we are headed back to St. Louis to do a follow up on her hip. I think after this appointment we will cut down on the time she wears her hip brace. I also think we will meet with the physical therapists there in order have a better understanding of what she can and can't do at this point. The hope is then to start her physical therapy here at home the following week based on the restrictions we are given from the St. Louis therapists and doctors.
So needless to say this Thanksgiving we are thankful once again for the way God has touched Addie. Her attitude in the casting and then the fact there was nothing wrong at the hospital is His grace! Psalms 136:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good."

What a Month!

Addie is officially out of her cast. She has moved onto a hip brace for the majority of each day for the next 5-6 weeks. After that point she should start wearing it just at night. She has been in quite a bit of pain because the leg was so stiff after the cast, but the pain is finally seeming to improve and her leg seems a little looser as we do the stretches. We go back December 18th for a follow-up. We are hoping to get a lot more answers that appointment because we left the last appointment unsure of how much she is capable of doing regarding crawling, weight bearing, & walking during her different stages of recovery. Shortly after getting the cast off we went to Cincinnati to follow-up on her arm. The doctor decided we did not need to do another nerve transfer because of how well she is doing when she is in gravity eliminated positions, like laying on her back or side. She is able to move the arm to 150-180 degrees in those positions, but as soon as she sits up she can hardly get it up which shows it is a strength issue. At this point we are going to continue with her therapy and e-stem to work on the nerve and muscles. We are also going to be trying something new next week. It is called CITM. CITM has us cast her good arm, right arm, for 2 solid weeks so she will only be able to use her left arm to do things. We will have intensive therapy (3x a week) those two weeks working on strengthening and using her left arm. It will be followed by a third week of intensive therapy (3x a week) with out the casting on her arm. This is a method that her therapists here will do but the doctor in Cincinnati also uses this method for improvement. We will do this now and hopefully see some improvement and it is a method that we will probably use again in the future. The doctor there while pleased with her progress and abilities does not think she will ever have full function of her deltoids on that arm. It tempts me to be discouraged hearing that but I know that we have access to the great healer! I am not giving up on praying for complete healing while doing everything here that I am able to encourage improvement! We would appreciate prayers during the next few weeks as I am sure that Addie is not going to enjoy the casting of her good arm! The other therapy we are dealing with is speech/feeding. We have been seeing our feeding therapist once a month, but Addie has just really started trying to communicate so we have decided to add speech and up her therapy to once a week. Addie is up to saying 15-20 words now! One of her favorites is "ready, set, go!" and then watching the boys race. As Michael says once she starts counting them down they don't get to stop because she just keeps going and giggling as they run! The boys are doing really well with her and handle all these therapy sessions like champs! We have started Michael homeschooling and so of course Stephen likes to participate as well. It has gone surprisingly well given everything else we have had going one and I just appreciate having them all home with me still. So life is hard some days and life is long some days but when I sit here and think about it all I am just so grateful! God has been good to me. When it is hard he gives me strength. When I am stressed He gives me peace. As I sit and think of all we have gone through these past 2 years with Addie I am so amazed at how He has carried us. Mike and I know God has lead us to the doctors for her and has given us the strength and resources to travel them. Mike's boss has been an amazing blessing working with Mike so that he has been able to attend a good portion of the doctor appointments with me. It is a lot to deal with but God is good. I just keep remembering Romans 8:28 " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." This verse gives me hope and strength to carry on. My biggest desire in life is to bring glory to Him and being remind that in the struggles when I can't see how He could get glory from the mess I am making that if I continue to strive for and love Him that he will use the good days, the bad days, the hard days, and the long days to paint a beautiful picture of my life that is good and that brings Him glory. When I keep my focus on Jesus life gets a lot easier to handle!

Life in a cast

Addie has been casted for 4 and 1/2 weeks now. We were having quite a bit of problems keeping her first cast dry which lead to a skin infection which lead to a new cast on Sept. 30th. We are doing much better with this new one! It fits much better and she is feeling pretty good about it. We are changing the diaper every 3-4 hours with multiple diapers in order to keep in tight against her skin so we do not get the cast wet again. It has been working so far although I am excited to get it off so we can stop setting the alarm for the middle of the night to change her diaper; waking a sleeping baby is never fun! She has learned to army crawl with it on so she can get around. The casting process has been great for her left arm! We have doubled up and are doing OT 2x a week during this time. The cast keeps her stuck on her back or her side which eliminates gravity allowing her to move her arm more than she can when sitting which is an awesome opportunity for strengthening. The therapists have been pleased with her movement and we are praying that the doctor will be when we return for her follow-up Nov 3rd. They will make the final decision on another nerve transfer at that point so we are trying to work as much as we can to see if strength building with gravity eliminated will help her be able to use her arm more against gravity when she can sit up and eventually stand. We are open to doing the surgery if it will improve her motion but there is always risks involved in any surgery and so we are hoping to see what she can recover without surgical measures. Yet as always we know that God has a plan and is working in the midst of this to bring about glory. Some days it is easy to wonder why He didn't just heal her because we know that He is capable and has done that in some cases. But then I am reminded that to have faith you must have hope. If everything happened immediately and exactly as we expected there would be no hope and with no hope you have no faith because " faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1.  Faith requires hope the more you have to hope for the more you have to trust God and have faith in His plans and His timing. So we are holding onto our hope as He is stretching and growing our faith because the Bible reminds us that God is faithful and deserving of our hope. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful" Hebrews 10:23. The cast is scheduled to come off Oct. 21st at that point Addie will be in a brace for an undetermined amount of time. The brace will allow her to take baths and sit up two things she cannot do in her cast so we are looking forward to that! We are also adding speech therapy to her eating therapy and hoping to see some more progress in that regard. She is actively trying to communicate more but her levels of communication are still very behind for her age. It has been a busy few weeks her adjusting to her in a cast and the extra care she requires and we have also started homeschooling the boys. Michael is doing really well and catching on really quick with his school work. Stephen likes to do what Michael is doing but isn't really into school except for science experiments! It has been a crazy fall but I am so excited to see what God is going to bring out of this time in Addie's life because "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" Romans 8:28.

Surgery Update

Well Addie had her hip surgery yesterday. It went extremely well. The doctor was able to loosen the tendons around the ball of the hip and then cut the leg bone underneath the ball in order to move the ball into the socket. They had been worried about her losing blood due to cutting the bone, but the blood loss was minimal! God has his hand on the surgeon and his team and all were pleased with the results and ease of surgery. Her pain yesterday and through last night was bad, but she was in a much better mood this morning. The doctor was in and we are going to be able to go home this afternoon after her third dose of antibiotics. We are looking forward to sleeping in our beds! The body cast is loose around her belly and goes to her ankle on her leg but only to her knee on her left which is nice. The plan is for her to come back in 2 weeks for X-rays and then 6-7 post-op the cast should come off and she will go to a brace for an un determined amount of time. We are so grateful for God's touch on her and the surgeons who he used. And in the middle of this while the night hasn't been easy and this cast will pose its own set of difficulties in the next few weeks we are trusting God that he is using this for the good. We can't see the whole picture but we do know that God loves her even more than we do! Romans 8:28 "We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." He has been good to us and we are so thankful for His presence in our lives through the good and the bad!

Hip Surgery is in 2 weeks!

I have started and stopped this update so many times. I have been overwhelmed with the results of our Cincinnati trip and thinking about the hip surgery.  When we went to Cincinnati at the beginning of the month he was not pleased with her progress there and if a nerve transfer is necessary they like to do it before 2 years old.  They were (God ordained) able to fit us in for an EMG directly following our appointment and those results showed there was still healing being done on the deltoid! So instead of surgery again we just added e-stem. We go back in November for another follow-up to watch the progress from the first surgery and make sure the deltoid is progressing enough to avoid surgery so please be praying for that. Addie has learned a few new words she will "roar" like a lion, says "uh-oh""wee""yay""cheese" "please." All the words don't come out perfect but there is a lot of progress in that department! We are now on countdown for her hip surgery which is in 2 weeks. We have to be there Sept. 9th for a pre-op appointment and her surgery will be done Sept 10th. It is about a 4 hour surgery. While every surgery has its risks this one is very important for her progress but also carries the most risk and hardest recovery of any surgery we have done so far. They will be cutting part of her bone in order to pull the hip into the hip socket. Because they have to cut the bone there is the possibility of her requiring a blood transfusion which comes with its own risks. Also, to keep the socket in place she will be put in a spica cast, which goes from her belly button to both ankles most likely, for 6-8 weeks. Her movement will be stilted at first until she is able to figure out how to wiggle around in the cast. She loves to be very independent so I am sure it is going to be sad the first few days. Please be praying for us. This surgery is overwhelming to me. We will be at the hospital for 1-2 nights before we are able to come home. Only one parent is allowed to sleep there so the nights will be long. Thankfully all of our parents are coming with us and will be able to help with the boys. I have been reading the Gospels in my devotions and one of the miracles in John 9 really hit me this week. John 9:1-3 " As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?^{" "} Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." This story in John reminds me that to us things don't always make sense because we can't see the future and how God will use it. The man in John was an adult that finally got healed. He dealt with his blindness his whole life. Could God not have used someone younger who hadn't had to ddeal with blindness for so long for the same purpose? God had a perfect plan and it included that man and his blindness in order for God's glory. The healing came but at a point when the man was most likely desperate and had given up on ever seeing until He heard about Jesus. We cannot give up on our hope of healing because we know Jesus! But in the midst and the waiting and the healing through doctors and surgeries we have hope and patience because Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." It has been a lot just thinking about this surgery and it will be a lot of recovery after her surgery, but through it all God is faithful. I can't see the future but I know that God has a plan and I know that He is using us for His glory in the midst of our struggle. I will try and keep you all updated quickly after her surgery and recovery. I appreciate all your prayers as I said the idea of this surgery is overwhelming me so I am going to need God to carry me through the actual time of surgery and recovery. But he is a God that delights in comforting His people. I am counting on His comfort and peace in the days ahead! 2 Corinthians 1:3-4"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God"

19 Months

Addie is 19 months old! We are really starting to see her personality more and more. She is very happy and easy going unless you try to take her toy. :) One of the words she has down pat is HEY as she pulls her toy away from her brothers when they try to trade with her! She is wanting more and more to be independent. She is trying to feed herself with her spoon. We are looking into getting a specialized bowl and spoon that will allow her to scoop easier. The feeding/speech therapist was here last week and she was very pleased with Addie's progress already from the tubes. She thinks we will see more improvement on her vocally in the next few months. The sad part is she does not think we will see much improvement on her eating until after her hip surgery and she is up walking. The saying is hips goes with lips. So we are at a maintenance stage with her feeding. We are continuing to work on her chewing and teaching her to do it the correct way. So her diet consists of mostly purees, yogurts, cottage cheese, and a few other things like puffs, bananas to practice her chewing. Her physical therapy is also in some ways at a maintenance level where we are trying to keep the skills we have and continue to strengthen the muscles as we weight for her hip surgery. Addie can still army crawl but she has figured out how to scoot while sitting up so that is her preferred way to move now. Occupational therapy is also going well and while she has full motion while on the floor we are trying to build her strength so that she has more motion while sitting up. Overall we are happy with each step, but so ready for her hip surgery so that we can move on. I keep telling Mike that once she is out of her cast and brace she is going to age 6 months in 1 week as she learns to walk, talk, and eat! It is so exciting to think about because you can see she is so ready to be keeping up with her brothers and I can't wait to see her chasing them! God is really blessing us and we are trusting in His timing for her surgery. As of now she is scheduled for a follow-up in Cincinnati for her arm on Aug. 4th and her hip surgery in St. Louis September 10th. We are on the waiting list for her hip though so that could change in a moment's notice. September would be nice because it would be cooler for her while she is in a body cast; like I said earlier most of her progress is at a standstill until her hip is in place.  We are just praying for God's timing in all of this. He has worked out things in her past in ways I didn't know we need when I was in a rush for previous surgeries so I am continuing to trust Him for the timing of this one. I have been reading Psalms 33 and verse 4 keeps jumping out at me as I think about her surgery "For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does." I can't see everything in Addie's future, my future, or the future of my family but God can. I rest in the fact that He sees all and knows all and that whenever the surgery happens He will be with us and His word and His promises that we have been holding onto all this time are true. The timing and the circumstances that I face do not have the power to change to truth of God's word. That is why I can trust Him. So yes I would like her to surgery to have been yesterday I trust that in all of it God is working for the good. Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" He is working all the pieces of this puzzle that I see and those that I don't see for good so I can trust Him! I am so grateful for that truth. The days here aren't always easy trying to do all of Addie's therapy and take care of the boys so they are able to play and enjoy life but God is always faithful. He is using me here and He is giving me a grace and peace through each trial and different step. I am so thankful for Him!

Tube surgery

Addie had her tube surgery today at 8:00. The doctor was able to get the tubes in without a problem. He said there was a lot of thick fluid back there and that this should make a big difference in her hearing. She was a little fussy as she woke up but was doing better as we settled down at home. She is sleeping now and will most likely sleep on and off today. She is taking Tylenol for pain but the doctor said by tomorrow she should be fine. She is also using ear drops for the next week to help the fluid all drain out and to avoid infection. Thank you for praying for her. She is doing well and we are excited to see how this better hearing will impact her ability to communicate! Once again God has shown himself faithful to us.

Surgery dates & 18 month update

Addie is 18 months. She is 29 inches and 19.5 pounds. We have two upcoming surgeries. The first is this Monday June 29th for the tubes in her ears. This is a quick outpatient one but she will be put under to keep her still. The tubes will fall out on their own in about 9-12 months. When they fall out we will treat her ear like a brand new ear and hopefully it will not fill up with fluid again! The second surgery is for her hip. That one is in St. Louis and will require a one or two night hospital stay. She will be under for about 4 hours while they cut the bone in order to move it into place. She will then have metal plate put where they cut it to hold it steady while the bone heals. The metal plate will be taken out in 4-5 years. The hip surgery has been scheduled for September 10th although we are the first ones on the waiting list so if there is an earlier cancellation we will move up. After the hip surgery she will be in a cast from her belly button down to her ankles for 6-8 weeks. After she is removed from the cast she will most likely have a brace but I am not certain on the length of time or how often she will have to wear that. We decided to take a vacation before her surgeries and she is just loving the pool and the beach. She loves to meet new people and try out her new word "hi." She is also starting to say "ma-ma" and "da-da" like sounds when she wants Mike or I. She is making progress and she so wants to be big! It is hard now because her mind is able to think like a typical 18 month old but her body can't keep up. While I am not excited to go through these upcoming surgeries I am excited to see her progress after them. God has been good to us and has blessed her with a determined personality but also an extremely happy and easily content personality. Life with Addie is fun! And we are so thankful for all God has done and all that He will do in her and through her. We have seen miracles in her life and the lives of those around us and we are continuing to pray for the miraculous as we prepare for the surgeries. We continue to wait and to hope on God because as psalm  71:5 says "God has been our hope and confidence since our youth" and we aren't giving up on Him now! Our prayer is that our boys and girl are learning the same thing as we continue to rely on Him each step of the way.

17 Months!

Our baby is getting big! She is getting more vocal and demonstrative about what she wants. She can say "hi" and is actively trying to learn new words. She can sign "more" "please" "eat" and "sleep." Every new step is exciting. She is also almost 20 pounds which is huge!!! We should hopefully be able to do the hip surgery sometime this summer. We will be going down to St. Louis on June 5 to see the doctor again and also to get cleared by the anesthesiologist. I am hoping we will schedule her surgery at this appointment. We did have her follow-up for her ears last week and there was still fluid. The doctor has decided it would be the safest route to go ahead and do tubes since we know the fluid has been there few month and is not allowing her eardrums to move properly. We will do that surgery June 29th. It is a quick surgery done in an outpatient clinic. The hope is that she will be able to hear more clearly so that she will have an easier time talking. All of her therapist have been pleased with her progress all the way around. For her arm when she is laying on her back she has full motion. When  she is on her side she has almost full motion. We are working on exercises in this positions to keep it loose and also to build strength. We are also working on some exercises in sitting to build strength. As her strength builds she should be able to do more in sitting and standing position with her arm. She is still having occupation therapy once a week to work on it and we do E-stem 30 minutes a day to continue stimulating her nerves from the surgery. She continues to speed up her army crawl in order to try and keep up with her brothers! Her feet are also doing very well. She sleeps in her orthotic braces and during the day wears AFO braces to keep the stretched and flat at the bottom. The braces she wears in her shoes when she is standing especially to help her ankles not roll. She can get her self up into the crawling position of all fours now but her left arm is too weak to hold it for long. The therapists are amazed that she is even capable of doing that between her arm and her hip being out of socket. Addie sees the physical therapist once a week also and spends about an hour a day in her stander strengthening her legs. The stander is also hopefully helping her left hip socket that was shallow to become deeper by bearing weight. She just got a new stander that is much easier to use, and was completely paid for by the Early Intervention program we are in. The Early Intervention program has been a huge blessing for us because it covers the therapy sessions as necessary so we are not worried about using too many as we would be with insurance because our insurance only grants us so many a year. Addie is also seeing a feeding therapist once a month. At this point we are working on placing soft chewable foods on the sides of her mouth and cuing her to chew. Her chewing has improved, but the majority of her calories continue to come from purees and things like oatmeal. We still have an interesting road ahead of us but God has been good! We are enjoying the weather and she loves blowing bubbles, going to the zoo, swinging, riding in the bike trailer with Stephen, and going for walks outside. She always wants to be involved in whatever her brothers are doing and Michael can make her smile all the time. Michael is a great big brother! He is always willing to help spoon feed Addie or stop her from crying. Stephen is also getting into the big brother role and trying to get Addie to help him do his chores! I can see Addie and Stephen causing some trouble in the next few years but I love watching their bond. It is hard sometimes to have our time divided so much between doctor appointments and therapy sessions. But then I see how compassionate already it is making my boys and I am grateful for that! We continue to lift Addie up for complete healing as we know the God that we serve is able! We just want God to get glory through all that we are going through in our life. He has been so steady and faithful to us in the midst of Addie and all the other things we have faced as a family this past year and a half.  He has been a God of encouragement (often through other people) and endurance and we are so thankful for that! Thank you all for your prayers and texts and notes as we go through each step. They are so appreciated! "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5-6

16 Month Update

Sorry for the long delay! We have been enjoying the spring weather.! Addie just loves being outside! She loves the swings and slides at the parks and feeling the wind on her face. We have been going to the zoo often and she loves it! She is still a happy baby, very given to smiles. She has now started to make her preferences known. If one of the boys steals her toys she will let them know she wants it back! It is wonderful to see her understanding and interacting more. She now has a pretty quick army crawl and mixed with her rolling she gets herself wherever she wants to go! We have, since my last update, visited Cincinnati to do a follow up on her arm. It has been 6 months since her surgery and they are pleased with the progress she has made so far. They said we should continue to see progress from the surgery for the next year, but it is obvious that the surgery was successful! We are going to St. Louis to follow-up on the plan for her hip June 5th. She was only 17lbs and 11 oz last month and they want her to be closer to 20lbs for the hip. We are using this time to pray that her hip will go into place on its own! She has gotten much stronger through the use of her stander that holds her upright for 1 hour each day at least. She also hooks up the e-stem machine at the same time for her arm. She  plays with toys in front of her or watches cartoons with her brothers while she does it. She has a set of braces now for her feet that she wears during the day and and separate one for at night. The ones at night continue to have the bar in between to hold her feet out, the day ones come up her calf and hold her feet flat to help her stand without rolling her ankles. Since our hearing test in February the pediatrician referred us to see a Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to discuss the fluid in her ears. We saw him last week. He saw that there was still fluid in her ears and asked us to come back next month to recheck. If the fluid is still present he wants to put tubes in her ears to release the pressure before any lasting damage is done. At this point we are just thankful that there was no hearing loss already and praying that the fluid will leave on its own before May 13th. Addie is also doing very well in her feeding therapy. She has learned to sign a few words like "more" & "eat". We are working on "sleep" "play & "drink." Michael loves to try and teach her ones and even starts making up his own signs to talk to her! She should be able to talk as she continue to open her jaw more and more for food and also just to babble. It is always exciting to see her learn and do new things. I sometimes get saddened by what she can't do especially when we are around babies her age or younger that are doing things that she can't do yet. But then I watch her play and see her lift her arm over her head on the floor, or see her get herself into a sitting position from the floor, or watch her army crawl from one side of the house to the other and I am reminding of all God has done for her already. Yes her life has had its struggle and yes I am exhausted sometimes by the constant effort needing to keep up with the therapy and doctor appointments not to mention the 2 other little ones running around here! Most weeks I feel we have a good balance but there are weeks that it is just hard! And it is okay that it is hard. God hasn't left and He hasn't finished but we are in the waiting. God doesn't promise us that it will be easy He just promises that it will be worth it and He won't leave us. We are called to persevere through our trials and stand firm on Him! We have to fight the good fight of faith and faith is hard because its very essence is of that which cannot be seen. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Our eyes deceive us so quickly and so easily from what God is trying to speak to our hearts. He is coming again!

 Hebrews 10 36-39 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”³⁸ And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” ³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. I am fighting daily to be one who does not shrink back because of the circumstances we may face here, but to relay  totally and completely upon the truth of God's word because Luke 1:37 " For no word from God will ever fail.” I am always amazed at how much writing these posts help me. It is a fight to persevere and hold on and sometimes I forget just how big God is, but when I sit down to compile my thoughts for you He always leads me right back to the Scriptures I need to remind me so that I can share with you. He is so good!

Hearing Test

I took Addie in for her hearing test last week. She did wonderfully during the test and she does not have hearing loss! What another blessing! God has touched her and touched her. We were not able to travel to Cincinnati today for her follow-up appointment because all of the kids are sick this week. It has been a crazy winter of sickness for us, but that is okay. We are just going to relax and enjoy the days at home recouping. They will get over this soon to just like everything else. Thankfully it is not strep throat because we had a scare of rheumatic fever with Michael following his last case of strep. God touched him also. We are so thankful for all the ways God has been working in our family and we are continuing to see the truth that James talks about. James 1:2-4 ^"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." We have gone through some trials lately, but so has everyone. The difference is that God carries us through as when we try to follow in His steps. Job 23:10-11 "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside." We are continuing to pray for the miraculous because we serve a miracle working God as we have seen again and again. I have been reminded again of the truth of Jeremiah 32:27 "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" God is bigger than we can imagine and He desires to work in our lives. When trials come our faith in the greatness of God must not change; that is where our perseverance and maturity come from. And "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1. Learning to live believing in God who is our hope is what perseverance is all about. Learning to hold onto that faith regardless of the circumstances and what the world says. Learning to trust that the Bible is all true and always true. Learning to not just know but to live out the fact that God is who His word says He is regardless of what is going on around us. This life of faith is not easy, and it is easy to lose your focus, but that is why we must keep our focus on Jesus who is desiring to continue to grow our faith which is why He allows the trials to come. I will leave you with this encouragement about faith from Hebrews 12:1-3 " Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

14 Months

It has been a big month for Miss Addie! She has been increasing her time in her stander to more like 30 mins at least twice a day. The strength she is gaining is amazing! She also got her new orthotics and shoes. She wears them pretty much whenever she is awake, when she is sleeping she wears the braces she has been wearing since last year. The new orthotics help keep her feet in the correct position which is helpful when she stands. I have to help her get her feet under her but then she is able to pull herself up at a toy and stand there for a 15-30 seconds and play. She is loving the new feelings from standing up. She will fall back on my leg and then do it again. It is exciting at all the progress she has made from just one month using the stander! Her arm is also continuing to strengthen and improve! And she is now able to begin to chew! So we are slowly working on adding some more textured foods to her diet, which she loves! The most exciting thing is she is now able to say Ma-Ma since she has some up-down motion with her jaw!!! We have seen a lot of improvements this month and are anticipating to see many more as we continue to pray and ask God for his healing hand to be upon her. We have a few big appointments coming up this month. We go Feb 26th for the hearing test that was recommended at her 1 year group therapy meeting. We then go back to Cincinnati on March 3rd for her surgery follow-up. Her weight is around 18lbs so we still have 2 pounds to go before we are able to schedule the hip surgery. But again we are continuing to pray and trust that God's hand would touch her and that things would happen in His timing. We have been blessed because each step of the way God has been with us, carrying us through and we anticipate and expect that to continue as He promises to be "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalms 46:1. I will try and update again after her hearing test on the 26th as always prayers for continued healing are appreciated. He has heard them and He has answered!

13 Months

Time just keeps going. I heard a phrase this past week that sums it up so well ' the days are long but the years are short.' I can't believe how quickly time is flying. It gets hectic and chaotic here keeping up with not only all of Addie's appointments but also with the little boys running around. It is a wonderful chaos though and I am so thankful I get to be home for all of it! Addie is handling everything we go through extremely well. We are now putting her in the stander once a day for 15 minutes to encourage weight bearing and standing. We will probably be bumping that up to twice a day in the next week. We also are still doing her E-stem on her arm 2 times a day for 15 minutes each time. She just sits there and plays with it. Her arm is doing very well in what movements she is capable of while lying down. We are working on increasing her strength in the left arm so she is able to move it when on her side and then when sitting/standing. She is also making good progress with her grasp and wrist placement. Her eating is still at the same spot where is she able to eat purees or mashed up food, but she still does not chew on her own. She has started to feed herself when I put out little snacks that will melt in her mouth. She is also now drinking from a normal cup instead of a sippy cup so that she is stretching her mouth out more during the day. She is also starting to use more sounds and use them more often in an attempt to communicate.We are continuing to see steady progress in many areas but it is also more evident to see where she is behind as she gets bigger. One of her favorite games is for Mike or I to hold her and chase Michael and Stephen as they run around the house. She just giggles and giggles! I can get sad at times when I think about where she would be if we weren't dealing with all this physical issues. I have to remember how far she has come. A year ago we were in casts for her legs and no left arm movement with no idea what she would be able to regain there! God has worked many miracles in her life and we are anticipating even more. It is hard sometimes and the days and weeks are long as we go from therapy to therapy with so much to do at home in between, but time is going quickly. As I sit back to reflect I can see how much God has been with us although in the moment it is easy to lose my focus and only think of what we still have to overcome. It reminds of the song I put at the beginning of the blog"I Will Look Up" by Elevation Worship. There is a verse that says "I look back and see that you are faithful I look ahead knowing you are able." I am sitting here encouraging myself again as I reflect on this past month for you. He has been faithful and so I know that He will continue to be faithful. I am not perfect somedays life weighs heavy on me as it does for all of you, but with God I have one who is eagerly waiting to carry the burden for me if I would just let go! I am going to spend some time giving up my burden yet again because He promises to take it and give me rest in its place. I hope that with whatever you are facing you will also turn to Him and allow Him to minister to your heart as only He can. It doesn't mean any of your present circumstances will change, but your heart will and that is what matters! So I will finish with this promise from Jesus himself in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”