2 Months Old

Addie is 2 months old today. Seems unbelievable all she has already gone through. The main thing she has gone through so far is her feet, and at this point she is almost completely done with the casting of them. The surgery went well and her next appointment is Feb 19th where they will take off her casts for the first time after surgery. Her doctor will most likely put them back on for another week or so until her braces come in, which we will order at the appointment. He was very pleased with her progress after surgery, and just seeing her casting you can tell how dramatically her feet have been stretched and changed to look more like a typical foot. What an amazing blessing all that modern medicine can do! We have also dealt with her hip which for the time being will remain out of place until the bone solidifies more around 12-15 months and can be put into socket. The last issue we have been watching is the movement of her arms specifically her left arm, which she did not move at birth. We met with 3 different therapists in order to determine eligibility for the state program Early Intervention and also to decide what type and amount of therapy she needs. They all agreed that she does qualify for the program; though at this point the think continual therapy is not necessary. When the time comes we will be able to get therapists through their program who will most likely come to our house to do her therapy. The program will also help pay for the cost insurance does not cover. The occupational therapist did give me some range of motion exercises and advised us to massage her arms. We started this about 2 weeks ago doing the exercises 4 times a day. Last weekend we began to see slight movement at her elbow and also noticed that if you pulled her arm out she would pull it back into her side, where up to this point it always stayed. Then, yesterday while her brothers were talking to her she got excited and started LIFTING it off the floor! It is amazing progress! God is touching her still.  The therapists all recommended reevaluating her at around 3 months, when she can start to do weight bearing exercises, to determine the extent of therapy needed. Other than that she is doing great. She smiles a lot, especially at her brothers! She is nursing very well now with the shield, and she is sleeping pretty decently at night. She was doing 6 hours for awhile but not we are around every 4. I have been able to get all 3 children to nap together most days so that is a huge help for me! We are living and loving. God is working and faithful. I am so thankful to see His hand so continually. We went through the surgery and while the feet were good the hip did not go as we had hoped, but now the arm is better than we had hoped. In the midst of it all we just must trust in His word and His promises. We may not always see or know what He is doing now, but we know that He is working and we see how He has worked which encourages us in believing that He will continue to work!  So we hold to the truths we find in His word that "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your way and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. In the end His way is always best, this we know. We trust and we praise! When she lifted her arm yesterday I just wanted to shout for joy! It is hard at times to watch and know the things she should be able to do but can't. The joy that comes as she conquers the milestones is amazing. Knowing that God is working in her and on her. He is using each step of this journey to bless us, and draw us closer to Him. That fact gives me the strength to go on even when I don't know why or how. I know Him and that is enough. In time He always shows Himself, and it is always the right time and the right way. Addie may have many difficulties in life, but God will touch her of them all. "The righteous person may have many troubles,  but the Lord delivers him from them all" Psalm 34:19.  I can only praise because through this we are growing and are becoming the people we need to be to do the work He desires us to do. 

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Surgery Update

Today was the day Addie went in early this morning and had her surgery. She did great in pre-op even though she hadn't been able to eat since 3:30 A.M. She did well with the surgery. Her feet did great and are now casted for 2-3 weeks after which we will move onto the braces. Her right hip even with the loose tendon did not go into place. At this point we will just leave it alone. They will do some x-rays on it around 12 months to see how it is growing and at some point between 12-15 months they will do invasive surgery to get it into socket. We are home now hoping to get some rest. She is on tylenol for pain as needed. While these are not all the results we hoped for we know that God is working. I may not understand why and how but I know that He is. As we were waiting for surgery this morning in the pre-op I was walking and singing to her. One of the songs I sang talked about how He heals hearts, at the moment I remembered how blessed we are. If God had not touched her heart at the beginning it could have been a much worse surgery with much scarier outcomes, but He did. He touched her heart in His time and in His way for His glory. I am continuing to trust that He is and will do that with her legs and hips. Our God is good and our God is faithful of that I am certain so I continue to praise as we go through each day on this adventure with our Addie. I am thankful for the touches He has already given and thankful that we are still being held in His arms! Psalms 18:1-2 "I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." I love Him because of who He is and what He has done and will do. So while we wait for healing we hold onto to Him the anchor amidst the waves of this life knowing "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." Romans 8:28

Tomorrow...

Surgery is rapidly approaching and I have been a mix of emotions. On one hand I am excited to move on and to be able to have some more definitive answers and timelines once we see how well the surgery goes. On the other hand I am wishing we could delay longer because I don't want my baby to have surgery. It has been so nice to have her without casts these past few days. We got to give her full baths and wear pants! Its the small things sometimes that bring a smile. I got to play with her feet and see her legs!  Isaiah 40:11 says "He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." I got such peace when I read that verse this morning. He carries us close to His heart and leads those that have young. I want to be by His heart and in His arms because alone I am scared and I am tired. It reminded me yet again that I am not alone but that God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, is holding me and comforting me. That reminder leads me to His peace and His strength. Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Because He is good and because He is faithful we will head into surgery tomorrow not afraid and not anxious. He is holding us in His hand! He is strengthening us and helping us! He is the reason we can smile and carry on regardless of what we face. So tomorrow instead of fear there will by praise and instead of anxiety there will be prayer! Our God is good! Psalms 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Surgery Scheduled

Addie's surgery has been scheduled for next Tuesday February 4th at 8:00 A.M. In this surgery they will loosen both of her achilles' tendons. This is done by continually poking the tendons with a type of syringe. It allows them to loosen them without having to cut her open. The doctor is also going to apply this same method on the muscle in her right groin area hoping that by loosening that muscle he will be able to put her hip into place. The surgery should only take 30-45 minutes and it is outpatient.  As soon as she wakes up and eats we will be able to bring her home. If the hip does go into place she will be casted from her belly button down to her toes. This will be for 2 weeks, then they will take the cast off and she will be given a pair of braced shoes for her feet. She will then be casted from her belly button to above her knees for 8 more weeks. It is going to be a process, but if all goes well and her hip goes into place this should be the only surgery necessary! If her hip doesn't go in with the looser muscle she will need an invasive surgery between 12-15 months old. We are praying for  successful surgery! We are leaning on our rock! Psalm 71:3 "Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress."

Redeemed!

I can't stop thinking about the idea of redemption. God has redeemed us from sin. I knew that, but the idea of redemption is much more than that. He redeems our lives fully each instance piece by piece. He brings good out of bad. He redeems our hurts, our struggles, our sin, our past, our present, our future. He redeems all of it when we let Him have all of us! It is so amazing and freeing to me.We deal with sickness and disease because we live in a fallen world. So Christians and non-Christians face similar challenges because of the world we live in. The difference between the two is that Christians have the promises that God will use each struggle and hurt for good. 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." He will redeem what sin has ruined. He will take the sickness and death and turn it into glory and salvation! We were bought with the blood the most costly redemption of all, but God has deemed us worth it! WOW! Are we living like we are? 1 Peter 1:18-21 "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." I can't get over this idea because I keep seeing how God is redeeming different situations in our family. He has not rescued us from these present trials but because our faith is in Him we have hope that He will use them and He has. The doctors were intially worried about Addie's arms, legs, and heart. God touched her heart immediately and we were able to encourage a friend whose baby had a heart murmur. We were able to encourage and share as a testimony how God is still in the business of healing! He touched that baby too. He redeemed that issue for His glory in the best way! Her arms while the left is still not fully functioning it is not stuck in place or deformed as we thought after the first ultrasound because at the second ultrasound she waved at me! He was working there too! While she will need therapy we know that He touched her and loosened those fingers and joints! God used this to allow us to encourage another family member who had a baby whose arm was injured during delivery. We saw His redeeming power once again! And now we had prayed and prayed for her clubbed feet to be healed upon birth, but when they weren't we continued to trust that His ways are not our ways. Once again we have seen how He is redeeming the casting and surgery. Another friend is having to go through casting for their child, for a different reason but casting the same, and we are able to connect on a level of understanding with them that would not be possible had God healed her like we asked. God is redeeming each situation and is letting us see His redeeming power! The best part is that He isn't done! We are seeing how He has used each stage He has let us go through whether the immediate healing of her heart, the beginning of healing on her arms and hands, or through the doctor's method of casting on her legs. He is not just healing our Addie's body but He is healing others bodies and souls through her struggles. What a blessing that while we face struggles in this world because we are His they are not wasted. As we turn these struggles to Him, He redeems us and others because of them! How awesome to choose to trust in His ways and His time and then Him to bless us and allow us to see a portion of how He is using them. Isaiah 43:1-3a
"But now, this is what the Lord says- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;" He created us and formed us, He wants good for us, does not leave us alone to walk through the trials of this world! So as we head into surgery we face yet another trial, but we trust. The temptation to fear the worst case scenario has been playing heavily on me this week as I realize how close surgery is 1-2 weeks. Yet these scriptures in Isaiah are a great reminder to me of His love and redemption. He has already paid the price, so I will not fear.  He has summoned me by name and I am His! So is Addie! So are you if you desire to be! He already paid the price for each of us. Now it is just sitting there a free gift waiting to be accepted by accepting the need for a Savior in your life and admitting that Jesus as the Son of God is that Savior! Turn to Him and He will redeem you! He will redeem all of you! The price He paid is too high to let it be wasted! I am choosing yet again to give all that I am. I will live with abandon! He is too good and too faithful not to! And not just in this life but the next also! Romans 6:23" For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord." I may not have chosen the struggles we are facing, but I am so thankful for the way I am seeing more and more of Jesus in my day to day as we go through them. The peace we have been walking in is so strong that I know we are not actually walking through this but being carried in the loving arms of our Father! It is such a blessing to not face this alone, but in the arms of God and being held up there by the prayers of our friends and families! There is power in prayer and even more power in the blood of Christ! We are relying and depending on both of those and they have not failed!

One Month!

Well our little Addie is one month old already! I can't believe how quickly time flies and how much a month can change things. Praise God Addie is doing amazingly well. She has got to the point now where she nurses without following it with a bottle, which has made my life much easier! Also, the doctor is pleased with the progress the casting is having on her feet. He told us at the appointment last Friday that he think surgery on her achilles' tendon is about a month out. So we are looking at early February for that. We are still waiting for her to start physical therapy on her left arm in order to strengthen it. The state of Illinois actually has a program to help pay for the physical therapy and early intervention for children 3 and under. So at this point we are waiting for them to contact us and evaluate her to see if her issues qualify. The nurse I did speak with shared that the therapists now try and come to the house for therapy which will be nicer than me taking all 3 children along. Until the nurse evaluates her and then we will select a therapist we have no idea how often or how long she will need the therapy to build her strength up. We have been very blessed as we have gone through all this time though. The church family has brought meals, called, and prayed for us and it has been so nice to be cared for. Also, we were lucky because either my parents or Mike's parents have been able to be here with us giving me the 6 weeks to rest and recuperate as the doctor still has me on different restrictions.  God has been our joy and strength through this time and He has blessed us!"I will go to the altar of God-to God-the source of all my joy" Psalm 43:4.  We ask that you continue to pray for Addie's healing. Right now we are specifically praying for the upcoming surgery that it would be successful and especially for her right hip. If the doctor is able to get it into place during this surgery she will not need the more invasive surgery sometime next year. Also please pray for us to continue to stay healthy so that the surgery will not be delayed. Thank you all for lifting us up. He hears and answers each prayer in His time and in His way, which is always best and the true desire of our hearts!

A New Year

I think it is fair to say that 2013 was more than we expected at the beginning of it. It was a crazy, up and down, wonderful year. We went through quite a few hard spots but through it all we saw more and more how faithful and big God is. We have all changed this year and they are changes I wouldn't trade. We have been called into deeper study and more prayer. We have learned the idea of living by faith and basing our lives fully on the truth of the Scriptures. We have learned that even when the answers to our prayers don't come as we anticipate God is still God and He is in control. We were able to look back into our past to see how God had prepared us for the things we would face this year, especially with Addie, and we were able to face them by leaning on Him the way He had been teaching us. He has brought us into this new year closer to Him and ready and waiting to see how and when He will answer our prayers because we know He will answer! Addie is doing really well in a lot of ways. She is gaining weight very well and eating quite a bit, although still not nursing well even with the shield. She also sleeps pretty well at night and so far has been an easy baby. The casts on her legs don't seem to bother her most of the time. Christmas Eve did give us a scare because the toes on her right leg started to turn purple. They had told us that soaking the cast in warm water would allow us to remove it if this happened. We soaked for 45 minutes but nothing happened so we ended up taking her to the emergency room in order to have it cut off. She then was without a cast for the next couple days. This did set us back a little in the correction we had already achieved through the casting, but just about a week. Last week we had her 2 week check-up with the doctor and another orthopedic appointment to redo her casts on her legs. Both of these doctors expressed concern about her left arm because it was stuck in an awkward position during pregnancy and while she is capable of moving the arm it is very weak. The orthopedic doctor went ahead and made a splint a for it. Our little Addie now has 3 our of 4 limbs in casts or splints! It is a sad sight, but still we are thankful. There is no worry about nerves or chromosonal issues causing this just weakness because of the lack of room she had to move around in during pregnancy. Both doctors were referring her to physical therapy to deal with her left arm. They may also work with her right arm and hand some. The most exciting news we got though was that both parts of the chromosome testing came back normal!!! Mike and I looked back over some of the other struggles we have faced in our marriage and saw how they brought us down but at this point we look and say that while this could bring us down "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20  We have learned and are learning how to live by faith and realizing that while things are not how we would desire more than that we desire God's glory and we know that He is using each and every struggle we have face and will face for His glory. We have see how He used our past struggles for His glory even though at the moment we didn't know how He would or could. We have celebrated Christmas and that is the birth of our Savior who came to redeem us, but He not only redeems us to be sons and daughters with Christ, but He redeems the struggles we face and uses these times that are hard and could be hopeless. He takes those struggles and turns them into His good for His glory. We can face each struggle with the promise that not only will He not let us walk through it alone (Matthew 28:20b And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age) but that also that He will use it (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.) So we will go into this year excited and ready because we know that God is on our side. He has proved himself faithful over and over again this year. We know the truth in this Scripture  "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:31-32. These truths will carry into and through the next year regardless of what it will hold for us because God does not change!