Life As We Know It

Things here have been busy! The three older kids have been starting back to school: Ben is in 2nd! Rebekah is in 1st and Josh is in MWF preschool.
Our house is still under construction! The cement for our new garage was poured this week! How do we live in the snow belt of the snow belt and NOT have a garage?!?! I am just not sure that it will be ready before the now flies here, which, by the way it looks outside now, could be any day! (Our weather, literally, went from 90 degrees to 50 degrees overnight!)
And little Miss Rachel: she is recovering so well from her surgery. It's been about a week and a half since Rach got her "NEW FEET"!!! She came out of sedation very well and was able to go home the following day. I tell everyone that Rachel is SUCH a trooper! She is the EASIEST baby I have had...so far! I do think that once her feet heal and she gets some stability under her, she is going to give me a run for my money! Which is great with me! I want that kid to be on the move! She tells me that she is going to "Walk, walk, walk! March, march, march! and Dance, dance, dance!" (By the way, John has always prayed over each kid: Ben- a kind heart. Rebekah - to have joy. Josh- to have courage. and Rachel - that she would dance before the Lord in worship...and her day is coming!!!)

So, everyone here is doing well! Thanks for checking in! (By the way, I am still having trouble uploading pictures, thus no current ones!)

"F" Day for Rachel

Well, this morning is "F" day for Rachel: Feet Day, that is. I would be lying if I didn't say that this momma is a little nervous. We would appreciate all of your prayers!!

Have a great day, everyone, and remember little Rachel today!!
(GRRR!!! Darn technology again: I could not upload a picture of Rachel this morning!)

Hello???

Hello? Anyone still out there? I know it's been a long time, but we have been BUSY!!! I won't even begin to tell you everything we have been up to this summer.

Lately though, we have a lot going on:
On Monday, August 30th, Rachel is having surgery on her feet.

On Monday, August 30th, Ben and Rebekah are starting school.

And we are currently in the middle of a major house renovation.

Not like I don't have a lot going on, eh? Well, if you think of it, please be praying for us! I will update on everything when I get the time...or not!

By the way, I HATE technology! I have had a lot of issues with my connection, loading pictures, uploading pictures, etc LIke, right now I am trying to upload some pictures, but it won't let me. GRRRRRR!!!!

Update on Rachel

I know...It has been a LONG time!! I got out of the habit of blogging and then it just seemed too much to get back in...
I will just pick up here...

Rachel is scheduled for surgery on her feet on August 30th. She will be having an Osteotomy and work on her feet. We are not sure what all will need to be done to her feet yet...

Most Spina Bifida kids do not have a lot of control from their hips down, so to wait until they are three is no big deal. Rachel has great control/ function to her knees. From her knees up, she is like a normal two year old...below her knees are different story. So, it will benefit Rachel to have her surgery sooner rather than later.
At her doctor appointment back in February, they wanted to do it at the beginning of Spring (May?) and then she would be in a cast for around 6 weeks. Here in NW PA, we have terrible weather for 9 months of the year and then great weather for only a few in the summer. I really did not want Rachel to be in casts while the other kids were playing outside, going to the beach, swimming...you get the idea. Plus, we can get really humid weather here too, and we do not have air conditioning...It just didn't seem fair to Rachel. So, I asked if we could push her surgery out until the fall. We got a preliminary pre-op date (for testing, X-rays, things like that) in late August. Well, the last time we saw her team, they really felt the surgery needed to be done sooner rather than later. With Spina Bifida, there is no easy fix. So, although Rachel is wearing bracing to help keep her feet straight, those braces are also causing skin irritation and bruising.
Well, her team at Shriner's here in Erie also has concern that her feet problem is not being caused by a tethered cord (Hard to explain, but picture it with me: Her spinal cord -where her defect is- flying around and attaching to something in the column. Surgery would be needed to correct this.
So, we are going to Pittsburgh a little early to get the tethered cord ruled out.

Ugh! This is not the most eloquent post I have ever written, but hopefully you get the idea of where we are right now.
Two prayer concerns (three):
1. Rachel does not have a tethered cord...that the problems in her feet are only caused by her growth.
2. Rachel's surgery: that it goes REALLY well and that the date gets changed to an earlier date. August 30th is the kids' first day of school, and I hate the thought of not being here to get them ready and on the bus, getting the pictures and all of that. The surgery schedule was full: it was Aug 30th (which was a cancellation) or wait until November...:)

The Stuff True Love Is Made Of...

Yesterday I came across my first crush on the Internet. Ok, it was on Facebook. I know a lot of people have gotten themselves into trouble through the Internet, but let me tell my story.

When I was in 4th grade, I was IN LOVE with a kid named Chris. He was SO CUTE, but more than that, he was nice. It was a crush. Fast forward 30 (give or take) years...

A friend had him as a friend on Facebook. I looked at his (locked) profile and all I could see was his picture. He is still just as adorable as ever. Can you really call an almost-40-year-old "adorable"? Well, if you can, Chris fits the description.

When I saw his picture, all those 4th grade butterflies came back. "Oh, he's so dreamy!"

I logged off the computer and went right upstairs. The first thing I did, was tell my husband...EVERYTHING. I don't have plans to cheat or leave my husband, but it always starts with a little something left out. So, I always make it a point to have full disclosure with John when I see and old boyfriend or have a dream about someone...just to be SAFE.

Here's the point:

As I was going to sleep, I started to think about Chris, and believe me, all I have to go on is a picture. I have no idea where he is, what he does, if he has kids, if he is a believer, if he beats his wife. But as I was going to sleep, I was wondering these things, and found it VERY easy to imagine him happy, in a great job, and still just as nice a guy as he was in 4th grade.

I started thinking that it would be very easy to walk away from my life and step into his.

But here's the thing, Chris hasn't seen me and my bed head, or when I've not showered in days, or when I am *super* cranky. He wasn't there and held my hand as my daughter went through surgery. He didn't hold me as I wept when I found out my daughter's feet don't work. He doesn't really have a history with me. He doesn't know me, and I don't know him.

This past Valentines Day, I was up at 3am cleaning up puke. Guess who was right beside me cleaning up the puke? Not Chris. It was my husband, John.

Yes, this life I have is full of a lot of stress and strain, but it's the life I have, the life I have **CHOSEN** to walk...with John.

Cleaning up puke at 3 am is not glamorous, but it is the stuff true love is made of.

Things I've Learned from Spina Bifida

As I was putting Rachel down to bed last night, I realized that her AFO's needed some adjustments. The velcro was coming off; the moleskin was wearing thin; the straps needed some trimming. So, I sat down to do the work of refurbishing an AFO, and I realized, this is something I couldn't do "before".

In many ways, my life has been sliced right down the middle, now marked by "before" and "after".

Now, I can refurbish an AFO. I ever KNOW what an AFO is and does.

Now, I can tell you what "Myelomeningocele" means. Heck, I can even spell it without looking it up.

Now, I can insert a cath, at least for a little girl.

Now, I can rearrange my schedule to fit in four therapy sessions week.

Now, I can fully explain Hydrocephelus, a VP shunt and tell you the signs to look for a malfunction.

Now, I do a butt-flap.

Now, I can get in three massages on little toes that don't wiggle.

Now, I think ahead and make sure there will be a cart (store) or take my stroller.

Now, I know that sneakers are really the only shoe option for my little girl. No cute little sandals or little ballet flats.

I know to find shoes that fit well over her AFO's.

Now, I can put on a rhino brace for the hips. (And by the way, wouldn't it make more sense to call it a "hippo brace"?)

Now, I can laugh.

Now, I can be thankful for life.

Now, I can praise God for everyday gifts.

Now, I can find beauty in the malformed.

Now, I know that life is more than feet that work.

Happy 4th Birthday J-MAN!!!!

Dear Joshy,

Today you are four years old! Where has the time gone? Is seems like just yesterday that you were a sleepy little baby, and now, you are a "Star Wars boy", always saying something to make me laugh or smile!! I love you!!!