They are home! Thanks for your donations!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Tough Cookie



Ah, SPRING BREAK! This has brought much adventure to our household!

Hope and I went to Washington to visit my sister and her family. Hope also was able to visit a former friend from her foster village. Even though they were still thousands of miles apart, they were able to connect briefly in an international village for the day. 

Easter morning brought us to Westminster Church with long-time friends, Lavonne Dideon and Cathy Worrell.  It has been my long time dream to meet Yahoo group friends face-to-face--perhaps someday I will make it to the Eastern coast too! (Annie and Angie, I am still hoping!!!) The service was great; I was in tears more than once and the message was a topic of conversation in our family through the week. 

The best part of our trip was getting to know our niece and nephew (cousins for Hope). Between the crunchy brown mice, chirping finches and growling Lilo, it was worth it's weight in gold. (Those who understand…understand!)

It was sad missing Easter with my family. The kiddos at home did staggered basket hunts, divided egg hunts, and Easter service with their holiday dresses without me. However, they did it well and the memories were worth the absence.

In an effort to "make it up" to my kiddos at home, I took them to an open-gym at our gymnastics gymnasium. We did it on Tuesday with Andrew, Hannah and Amanda, and  we also repeated the excursion on Thursday. Originally I planned on picking up my eldest daughter, Hailey, from the airport during the gym time but her "special someone" Daniel asked to have the honors. For that, I am SO grateful! I needed to be present.

It was a simple mistake--Jumping to the high bar. Hannah did it (with permission first) and then encouraged Mandy to do the same. Mandy jumped, grabbed, slipped and fell--just wrong. She ended up breaking her elbow and needing surgery to put the piece of bone back into place with a surgical screw (as well as sewing a chip back into place…how do they do that??!?). My little girl who only cries silent tears didn't stop waterworks for over an hour…big indication that something was VERY wrong! X-rays showed that an early morning appointment with the orthopedic doctor was prudent…and he "just happened" to clear his schedule prior to today to accommodate for E.R. surgeries…namely, Mandy's, whose took over 2 hours. 

As I mentioned, Mandy is a silent tear crier. She holds all of the "questionable" emotions inside. However, once she was given a sedative via I. V., she opened up considerably! Before surgery she was quipping about the room, the needles, us…anything she could focus on! She said I looked like I had four eyes…and I don't wear glasses. The funniest thing happened afterwards. 
Dave (who "just happened" to take a day off work…anyone connect the spiritual dots besides me???) and I greeted Amanda as she woke up from surgery.  Dave said, "How's my little Cookie?" to Mandy as she entered the room. With a totally perplexed look on her face, Amanda asked."I went into surgery, and now I'm a cookie?"  If she wasn't so serious, we wouldn't have lost it--but she was, and we did. :)  After a while of eyebrow raising and abnormally animated antics from Amanda, we were able to go home.

We are so thankful for all the e-mails, phone calls and flowers that were sent to Amanda. As she came out of her stupor, she relished the attention. Even her virtual twin was pining for the attention…as she adorned the room with signs and pictures she drew for her sister. 

Hopefully the Tylenol 3 will last the night. Hopefully tomorrow will be pain-free. Hopefully Amanda will realize just a little bit more how important she is to our family. Dickens had it right: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. This tragedy left a bunch of fertile ground for my baby to grow in. 

You are surrounded in prayers, Mandy! 

All my best, 

Amy

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Year’s Resolution



Being the mother of a collage-aged son who lives 13 hours away, I have had to learn to let go. Don’t get me wrong; my first-born has never done anything (much) to cause me grief or worry. Not knowing is half the battle—where he’s going, who’s he’s with, and choices he’s facing. The other half is knowing that bad things happen to good people, and that is the half that keeps me combating with worry and on my knees.
When my first-born received his driving license, my husband and I stayed up EVERY TIME he was out late. After a few months, we would take turns nodding off until Austin was safely home…but now we have let go of those reigns as my son has a schedule totally unknown to us. Even when Austin came home for Christmas break, we would be asleep by the time he returned home at night. Until…
One night Austin was out late. I was with the rest of the family when I was overwhelmed with fear for Austin. The previously stated phrase, “Bad things happen to good people,” flashed like a neon sign in my mind, and I was instantly trembling. I didn’t say anything to anyone else as I thought I was having a case of over-protective-mom-syndrome, but I did start praying for his protection, safety on the road, angels to protect him from dangerous situations and God to keep him in the palm of his hand. This continued until I was in bed, and I drifted into sleep.
The next day as I was chatting with Austin, I admitted that even though he has grown up so much, I was really afraid for him the night before. As the words came out of my mouth, Austin’s eyes became round as saucers and he locked them on me. He said that he had THE SAME FEELINGS the previous night! He said that he didn’t know why, because the roads weren’t as bad as the night before, but he was very concerned as he was driving.
It would be one thing for Austin to say what he did, but his reaction was what emphasized what he experienced. I don’t think that my prayers are anything special, but I do know the One whom I pray to is…I don’t pretend that I know what will happen, but I know that my God does.
My new year’s resolution is not for better fitness or losing weight or more patience. Those things are necessary, some more than others, and will happen (sometime or another). My commitment to myself, to my family, and to my Lord is to listen to His voice. I will only be able to hear Him when I spend time in His Word so it will take time and effort. When he speaks, either in the wind, the earthquake, the fire or the whisper, I need to obey (1 Kings 19:11-13). My family depends on it.
All my best,
Amy