Thank You

Just wanted to say thank you for your prayers for Tricia and give you a quick update. She made it through the surgery even though the surgeons said it was a difficult one due to the extent of her disease. From what I gather she is off the vent which is a huge blessing since she has been on it since January 8. They got her up and walking to her chair (amazing since it's not even been 24 hrs. since the surgery) and sitting up. They are trying to keep her pain down which I can only imagine but other then that I think the first day has been ok. This is a true miracle for this amazing woman and her sweet family and my heart has been rejoicing for them. I hope you continue to follow their story and keep praying for them as this is just the beginning of a new journey.

Also, I just wanted to ask for prayers for myself. I have had some rough couple of days (emotionally) and I have been letting the what-ifs of life cloud my mind. If I don't keep my focus on the Lord and all the blessings I have been given it is easy to start a pity party. The verse that seems to keep coming to mind is- 2 Cor. 4:8-9, "We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted. but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed." I appreciate your prayers.....

Asking for your prayers

I have been following the story of a family (through their blog) who shares a lot of the same experiences as we do. Tricia, has CF as well and by God's amazing hand she too was able to have a child. She has had a very difficult road as the doctors had to take the baby early (the baby, Gwyneth, was 1 1/2 pounds) and Tricia was put on a vent then and has not be able to come off of it since the birth of their daughter (3 months ago). Her husband, Nate, has been blogging about their story and I feel very connected to them even though I have never met them. Praise the Lord, little Gwyneth is doing well and gaining weight. I ask for your prayers for them as they have just taken Tricia in the OR for her surgery to receive "new" lungs. It was a miracle she was able to get on the list since she was on the vent (they usually don't allow that) but she has been on the list a little over a month I believe and this is her second call. I can only imagine how difficult these past 3 months have been for them as they have lived at the hospital and both mom and baby have fought to stay well. Please, pray for them during this exciting, scary time. I know they would greatly appreciate it! Here is they blog address if you would like to visit it- http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com/. Thanks for your prayers!!!

Sleep is good, no matter where it is

We were at Wal-mart doing one of our many shopping trips and Jason put Faith on his shoulders because she was getting a little antsy in the cart. I turn around and notice Faith hunched over and......sleeping! I would just love to know how it is possible for kids to fall asleep in the strangest positions and places. I have a hard enough time going to sleep in a nice, comfy bed.

We then put her in the cart (which was not very comfy either) and she kept on snoozing. By the way boots and shorts are the in thing now. (Just kidding) She is always wanting to wear her boots no matter the occasion or dress. Guarantee if you ask her which shoes she wants to wear she will always pick the boots! I have to say she does look pretty sweet in them.

I think I would have a stiff neck sleeping like this.

Oh, I just want to kiss those cheeks!

Easter

Happy Easter! As Christians we all know the amazing significance of Easter but I think it's very easy in the mist of all the preparations of the holiday to slide over what an awesome hope we have in Christ. I have been able to "meet" some amazing people through reading their stories on their blogs and two couples through very heart breaking events have reminded me again of the hope the resurrection brings. Both of theses couples have just recently lost babies. One was only alive for a couple of minutes after birth and the other lived for 9 weeks. Though they are very open about their pain and difficult days, they are also very quick to say that because Christ died and was raised again they too can have confidence that their sweet baby boys have been raised to life as well. To think if Christ never came out of that tomb we would have no hope. That's what the resurrection is all about.....hope! This life can be very difficult but I am so thankful we do have the hope of being with Christ forever, the hope of never being sick or having sorrow, the hope of seeing loved ones who have gone Home and even the hope to over come life's trails here on earth.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble . But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I know the hope Christ brings is what those two couples are clinging too during this very hard time. If you would like to visit their blogs and read some amazing testimonies here are their addresses- http://mnssams.blogspot.com/ , http://thestanfieldjourney.blogspot.com/.

We did enjoy the day watching Faith do her first Easter egg hunt. We had to show her the process of picking the egg up and putting it in her basket but she got it figured out very quickly and from there she was on a roll.

I love hunting eggs!

She was just happy picking up the eggs but then she found out they had goodies inside and that just put the icing on the cake


We didn't get her a big enough basket so her eggs kept falling out so she ended up picking them up again & again & again

Love my Aunt Callie

Stuffing her mouth with the yummy candy

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb. 11:1

For I know the plans I have for you, "declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Ear Wax Contest!

Callie has been getting over the sinus junk that has been going around. Although she is feeling better it left her with a clogged ear so we thought we would try a natural method that my mom use to do on my brother when he got ear infections. I know it might sound crazy but "Ear Candles" are great, they really do work! After doing one on Callie and seeing just how much wax it pulled out (by the way, Callie was able to hear much better after it removed the excess wax), we began to wonder how much "extra" wax was building up in our own ears. So......we thought we would have a Ear Wax Contest!

Just to give you a little info about ear candles before we start.....

*It does not hurt to do one, even though some smoke comes out of your ear

*Make sure you have a tin pan or something to let the burnt candle fall into or you might start a fire. That is also why we are wearing wet towels over our heads, you wouldn't want to have your hair catch on fire.

*You just gently place the tip of the candle in your ear and let the fire burn done till there is about 4 inches left.

*The fun part is pealing the candle to see what all it pulled out inside your ear.

Starting us off is Jason........

I'm next in line

Callie finishes it off

And the winner is................Callie!

(She was kind of cheating because she has been sick so she had more wax build up)

I would have loved to show you the wonderful wax that came out but I thought that might be a little much. =)

Helping Mama

There are just some moments that you never want to forget. Children can touch the heart sometimes like no one else can. Faith did a simple thing for me the other day but she doesn't know it made me feel like the most loved person in the world.

I was having a coughing spell (not unusual) and she came over and brought me a Kleenex. She has seen Jason & Callie bring me them whenever I start to cough and I guess she just thought she knew what mama needed. You never knew an 18 month old could help out in such a big way. I remember tearing up and thanking God for bringing me such a sweet helper, baby girl. It's the simple things in life that can take our breath away.

It's never easy letting go.....

We have been heading off to the park more recently since we have had some beautiful days. Faith LOVES to be outside and slides are her favorite. The letting go and going down her self has not been mastered but daddy and mama are always there to cheer her on and give her a little push if need be. 1.....2......3.....GO!!!

She is just happy to sit at the top of the slide all day long

Living on the Receiving End

Asking for help has never been my specialty but I guess the Lord thought I needed to learn what it was like to be on the receiving end.

It's hard at times for me to accept the limitations due to my CF . I will push myself to the limit before resigning and this last year and a half have been challenging in many ways but the most frustrating is having to accept the fact that I can not do certain things anymore. Therefore my need for physical support and help have greatly increased. Being young but feeling like you have a 100 year old body causes conflicting emotions. Most CF people I know try to blend in the best they can with their disease and I am no exception. (Not going to tell you the tricks I use to accomplish this task, hehe) However, I have not being able to "hide" as many things anymore from the public and God has humbled me in many ways. The first time I went out in public with my O2 was like going on a first date knowing you had this HUGE zit on your face! Of course, hoping your date won't notice and hoping even more he won't say anything about it, you go anyway because there is nothing you can do about it. I get the normal looks and you can see the question on their face," Why is such a young woman wearing oxygen? I wonder what her story is?" That is just one example of the changes my health has brought this last year, but with that said I am thankful to have had the support from family and friends during these times.

God allows us seasons to give, bless others (that's my favorite season) but then He also allows us the opportunity to be blessed by others and to receive support when we need it most. I still tend to get frustrated when I can't physically help others right now but I just pray the Lord will give me the opportunity to give back to all who have blessed me and my family in so many ways during this time. I am once again struck with the reality of what I am waiting for, and that is waiting to receive new lungs. A humbling thought to think someones family who don't know you will give you the gift of a second chance at life. Isn't that the same amazing picture of what Christ did for us on the cross. Before we ever knew Christ or knew we needed saving He made the choice to give up His Son so that we might have life. So, whether it's needing oxygen, cleaning my house, going to the store, helping with Faith, accepting Christ as my Savior, or just daily strength from the Lord to fight today, I am on the receiving end in every aspect I can think of. However small it may seem I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us-

THANK YOU!!!

~For all the meals we have received

~The ladies who cleaned my house

~Have sent flowers and cards

~For the anonymous card that would come with money

~Helping out with Faith

~Sitting with us in the ER and visiting us in the hospital

~Phone calls & e-mails

~And of course your on going prayers and love

It has all been greatly appreciated! As I continue to learn more of what it means to be on the receiving end I do know that God has a purpose for every season of life I go through and I hope not to miss what He longs to show me through this time.

Baby Sign Language

Faith and I have enjoyed learning "baby sign language." For those of you are not familiar with baby sign language, it is form of signing that you can teach babies (as early as 9 months) to help them communicate before they can talk. You always speak the word that you are signing so they know what it sounds like but babies are able to make signs for things quicker then speaking them. My mom thought it was a funny idea but she has been surprised at how well it really works! It has helped us communicate easier with her and it's been fun to learn together. Here is a very close up video of Faith doing some of her signs.

So sweet

She likes to do the open mouth poses

Chevy trucks....there's nothing better!

I get asked quite often what keeps Jason busy these days besides caring for his girls and so I thought I would show you what is keeping him occupied and probably sane living with 4 girls (including Annie, Callie's dog). Jason's love (besides me) and hobby is restoring old trucks. He would want me to make it very clear he is a Chevy (GMC) guy only! NO Fords! Right now he is working on a 1971 GMC Jimmy. This is his second vehicle to restore and I have to say he does an amazing job. As you can tell he just painted his engine orange, which I have learned is called "Chevy Orange" and that is what the manufactures painted the engines in the 60s. It still has a long way to go but he has made some good progress since he has been home. It just needs the 2 ingredients that every hobby calls for, time and money.

Good job Jay!