Gracie is almost back to normal--amazing! She feels great, is eating well, getting into mischief...yep, back to normal.
Thank you for praying for her!
Gayle
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
H1N1 hits home...
The cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic just called me with the new that Gracie does indeed have the H1N1 virus. This virus attacks the respiratory system of these kiddos with heart disease. Please pray for Gracie's breaths to be easy, her temperature to be normal, and for her to drink. We can keep her at home as long as she is drinking plenty and breathing OK.
Gracie is SUPER CRABBY!! I call it the WHINEY SWINEY FLU!!
Gayle
Gracie is SUPER CRABBY!! I call it the WHINEY SWINEY FLU!!
Gayle
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
feeling blue....
Gracie has had a rough couple of days. This morning we headed north to test her for h1n1 and influenza. With her anatomy, she is in a very high-risk group for contracting these viruses and really having a tough time fighting them. Our cardiologist doesn't mess around, that's for sure.
Her symptoms fall in line with h1n1, but we won't know for sure until tomorrow--it really doesn't matter what we call it, she is sick. Since Gracie has just one lung that's functioning as it should be, pneumonia is always a scare. She has a rough sounding cough, had a high fever, body aches, headaches, is lacking in balance and coordination, and of course is blue.
When things such as this take place, we are spun back into reality of how sick her little body really is. She just doesn't have the reserve, she doesn't have a strong heart, she doesn't have lungs that can tolerate junk. Her immune system is jeopardized and things hit her head on.
And...did I mention she is crabby? Like...really crabby. She wants me to hold her, but yet I am holding her wrong. She wants me to lie on the couch with her, but pushes me off because I'm in her way. Crabby.
Praying tomorrow is better! I'll update when we have the results of her tests back tomorrow!
Gayle
state.
the mohawk tradition---still sweet!Yippeeee!! The boys cross country team made it to state! We have had such fun watching this team of boys this year. At the beginning of the season, I don't think many would have thought this was going to happen for this team. They have worked so hard...all of them.
after conference meet...not feeling great
Connor's best time by over a minute!I am one proud mama, that's for sure!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Selah update
Thank you so much for praying for Selah, for the advice, for the been-there-this worked-this didn't information. Truly, God uses the internet for good in many, many ways. Since we live in small town, Iowa, we have few resources, few people to turn to who have adopted an older child out of an orphanage. Around this country, however, there is an abundance of you out there--thank you for sharing your stories, your lives with me.
Life is much better around here...we feel as if the difficulties we have been working through have actually been a good thing, now that the grass is greener, the behaviors absent (for now anyways). Selah is learning that no matter how "bad" she is, she is staying right here. She has no basis for unconditional love--perhaps she is testing us, testing our ability to stick with her. We are also changed! It's amazing to me how God can allow our greatest fears to invade our home and yet show us we can, with His help, get through yet another storm. Sometimes He breaks us. We have been through three months of brokenness and yet we are OK...we'll come out on the other side changed...it's good. My close friends know that no matter what is going on in my life, I'm able to wear a mask and have the answer of "it's all good.". We joke about this all of the time. In my deepest pit, my reply was always "it's all good". Well, you know what--sometimes it's just not. It has not been all good for the past three months--my once clean, organized, simple home has had a tornado spinning haphazardly through it. We are now cleaning up the debris, but have this feeling of quiet now.
Selah still has a long road ahead of her--we do know this. 71/2 years of heartache are not just wiped out in a year. 71/2 years of abuse and neglect are not completely gone because of a family. With a moldable heart, however, Jesus can get right in there and fill her up. She has a moldable heart. She is good, she tries so hard, she is sweet, she is loving, she is kind, she just needs Jesus. We are pretty certain that is why God brought her over the ocean, through mounds of paperwork and red tape to Charles City, Iowa...to our family. Our job is to show her Jesus.
In many ways, these past months, we have failed. We've tried what we've known and it hasn't worked for this child. There have been times, we have been so angry...our voices raised and our fingers pointed out of sheer frustration. That was clearly NOT what Selah needed. Most times, we could walk away, breathe a bit, pray, and come back with clear minds and soft voices. What Selah has responded best to is love, touch, and forgiveness--now, doesn't that just make perfect sense. At one time, I asked her--"do you think I love you or Breuklyn more?" She said, "Breuklyn". "How about Connor?", I asked. "You love Connor more." "Derek? Gracie?" Each time, she said the other child. She feels unworthy of love. We ask her all of the time now, "who do I love the most?" "You love me the most!", she will shout. I tell her, "I love you all the most. I love six children the MOST!" She needs the confidence that she can know love. She can know that she is loved not because of what she does and doesn't do, but she is loved because she is. As difficult as that love comes for me at times, it is there. It is there because I ask God for that love--I simply don't have it in me myself, but through Christ, and only through Him, I love.
Oh...to ramble on and on...that's me!
Have a blessed day!
Gayle
Life is much better around here...we feel as if the difficulties we have been working through have actually been a good thing, now that the grass is greener, the behaviors absent (for now anyways). Selah is learning that no matter how "bad" she is, she is staying right here. She has no basis for unconditional love--perhaps she is testing us, testing our ability to stick with her. We are also changed! It's amazing to me how God can allow our greatest fears to invade our home and yet show us we can, with His help, get through yet another storm. Sometimes He breaks us. We have been through three months of brokenness and yet we are OK...we'll come out on the other side changed...it's good. My close friends know that no matter what is going on in my life, I'm able to wear a mask and have the answer of "it's all good.". We joke about this all of the time. In my deepest pit, my reply was always "it's all good". Well, you know what--sometimes it's just not. It has not been all good for the past three months--my once clean, organized, simple home has had a tornado spinning haphazardly through it. We are now cleaning up the debris, but have this feeling of quiet now.
Selah still has a long road ahead of her--we do know this. 71/2 years of heartache are not just wiped out in a year. 71/2 years of abuse and neglect are not completely gone because of a family. With a moldable heart, however, Jesus can get right in there and fill her up. She has a moldable heart. She is good, she tries so hard, she is sweet, she is loving, she is kind, she just needs Jesus. We are pretty certain that is why God brought her over the ocean, through mounds of paperwork and red tape to Charles City, Iowa...to our family. Our job is to show her Jesus.
In many ways, these past months, we have failed. We've tried what we've known and it hasn't worked for this child. There have been times, we have been so angry...our voices raised and our fingers pointed out of sheer frustration. That was clearly NOT what Selah needed. Most times, we could walk away, breathe a bit, pray, and come back with clear minds and soft voices. What Selah has responded best to is love, touch, and forgiveness--now, doesn't that just make perfect sense. At one time, I asked her--"do you think I love you or Breuklyn more?" She said, "Breuklyn". "How about Connor?", I asked. "You love Connor more." "Derek? Gracie?" Each time, she said the other child. She feels unworthy of love. We ask her all of the time now, "who do I love the most?" "You love me the most!", she will shout. I tell her, "I love you all the most. I love six children the MOST!" She needs the confidence that she can know love. She can know that she is loved not because of what she does and doesn't do, but she is loved because she is. As difficult as that love comes for me at times, it is there. It is there because I ask God for that love--I simply don't have it in me myself, but through Christ, and only through Him, I love.
Oh...to ramble on and on...that's me!
Have a blessed day!
Gayle
Sunday, October 4, 2009
A king in the family!!
We've had a fun, fun week around here! Last week, it was announced that Derek was nominated to the homecoming court and on Friday, he was crowned KING--yippee! What a fun year he is having--many wonderful friends...one in particular is pretty special, a fabulous XC season, college hunting, and now a crown--fun, fun!
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