Saturday, July 28, 2007

Continue to pray for us...please


Here is Carolyn with her "rubber ducky". Ready for her sponge bath. This picture was taken a few days before the current hardship she is in.



Poppy and his girls are enjoying some fresh boiled peanuts.



Here is Lili trying to escape before Aly gets to her and swings her around like that sock monkey.





Greetings Dear Friends and Family.
I am posting today instead of Shelley because she is worn out emotionally and somewhat physically and she asked me to do it. I don't mind as I just like so many of you find it cathartic and somewhat healing to share thoughts and needs with others via the internet. So let me take the opportunity to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for giving us this medium in which to share.

Having said all that, I am posting once again and asking for your continued prayers. Shelley's Mom has taken an unexpected and quick turn for the worse and it has shaken her tremendously. We expected that Carolyn might be around for the next few months at least and that during that time Shelley would have the opportunity to spend time and learn and love and grow as much as she could from her relationship with her mother.

Carolyn did not respond too well to some pain medication and it caused her to go "loopy" and begin to be incoherent. This kept on for some hours and her breathing began to be affected so If Shelley had not made the medical staff pay closer attention her mother may not have made it through the night. She was in a nonresponsive condition this morning at 8:00 am and they were going to move her into ICU. Shelley called me very distraught and was so scared that her mother's time was at hand. "I'm not ready for her to go". I can remember those words going around and round in my own mind not too long ago. I don't know if I would have ever been truly ready. So you can see the heartache we are all experienceing and need for your prayers and support.

Her mother came back a little today and although she has responded more this is just a short glimmer of light as her light will continue to grow steadily dimmer. We know the light of the world and although His light is truly all we ever need we none the less will miss our loved ones and espesially or mother's.

Sorry that maybe this post hasn't been completely coherent because of lack of good sleep and a thousand other things running through my brain (and around our living room). We are in need of direction as to what to do after Carolyn goes to be with Jesus. We have several options but we want to make sure that we are hearing and obeying GOD's will for our family.

Thank you and God bless all of you for your love, prayers and support. Call us for updates on Carolyn and our family if you like. A friendly voice is such a healing balm at times like these.
Shelley's cell phone (615) 574-9222, and mine is 9060.



Just a small smile brightens our lives.

Love to you all.
We continue to be as we will ALWAYS be
In HIS MIGHTY GRIP
David, Shelley, Aly, Lili and Bailey.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Mom...what do you think heaven will really be like

Hi everyone...it is about 4 something in the morning and I couldn't sleep so I thought I would try to post and update.

We got my mother back to St. Augustine this past Saturday from Gainesville. It was a harrowing two hour ambulance ride with her in a GREAT deal of pain, but we made it. She is now back at Flagler hospital. We are trying to figure out what to do from there. Most likely a nursing home, but we have to see what their insurance will cover. She wants so badly to come home, but with two broken legs and other health issues I just don't know how we can manage that. I promised her I would explore all options.

Yesterday was pretty emotional...we started talking about lots of stuff...the stuff that nobody wants to talk about. We started letting some emotion bubble out as the reality of our situation begins to take shape. We started preparing for the future...the next few months and also the future without my Mom. I can't believe that I am saying that...she is only 63!!! For whatever His purpose is... this is the road that God has led us down and we will walk it with as much grace and strength as we can muster!!!

Please continue to pray for our family. Not only my Mom and Dad , but for David , me and the girls as well. Please pray that Daddy will come through this with a renewed faith. He doesn't "do" change very well and he is facing his entire world being rocked to the core. Pray for David as he struggles to find a place to put this in his head along side the death of his own mother just a month ago. Aly and Lili as they don't really have a clue what is going on...they just know that Mommy is not around every day and when I am I am either crying like and idiot or trying to find patience to deal with them without damaging them for life!!! And for me, that I will become the mother that my own mother thinks I am. She has such faith in me to raise my kids and I just don't know how I am going to do it without her!!!

Okay, so I must go try to get another few hours of sleep..today is another long day.

Thanks to you all for the precious and wonderful notes and emails you have sent to give us your support!!! They mean the world!!

In HIS Mighty Grip...

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Content in ALL things.

This is David posting for Shelley. It may look a little different but she wanted to get the message out to everyone so they could go to the power and ask for His will. For those of you who don't know from the last post, we came to Florida to help Shelley's Mom after she fell and broke her leg, and both hips. We have since been on the roller coaster of misinformation and disinformation and frustrations galore to discover that her mother has bone cancer that has metastasized from her bought with breast cancer about 10 years ago.



Needless to say this has really kicked us in our gut. Totally unexpectedly and so many fears (which we know are not from God) concerns and mind numbing thoughts that understandably come at a time such as this especially on the heels of my own mother's death as a result of Cancer.



I am sharing this with you to ask you as our brothers and sisters in the faith to be in prayer for Shelley's mother, and father and Shelley as they face this dreaded disease and seek God's direction and peace.



When we got to Florida, we found that Carolyn had broken her left tibia and right hip. (According to the doctors etc.) then after another CT scan. They discovered that she had broken her femur and BOTH hips. THEN they discovered that she had broken both femurs at the hip on both legs. Needless to say the roller coaster of not knowing for sure was taking it's toll. Then they partially determined that they would do surgery to replace her ball joint and they were going to do it like right away. So apparently the Lord stepped in and said "Excuse me gentlemen who THINK you know everything, just a minute here. You NEED to get some more information". SO they discovered that they could not do the surgery in St. Augusine but needed to do it at a more specialized hospital in Gainsville or Jacksonville. We were praying it was Jacksonville because it is closer and an easier drive but it turned out to be Gainsville. So be it.



They transferred Carolyn on Monday and did some more scans and tests and whatever else they could to make sure they were doing the right thing. Just by act of God, Shelley was talking with an anesthesiologist about the upcoming surgery of her mom and the Doctor mentioned something about the myloma Carolyn had which totally wrecked her head and made her wonder WHAT THE HECK they were talking about. SO Shelley got on her hiking boots and determined to find out. Long story short, they finally got the details that the CT scan had shown multiple lesions all over Carolyn's body (skeleton) and they would be doing a bone biopsy to determine the organ of origination for the cancer. They believe currently that the cancer came from her breast cancer years ago. We should find out definitively Friday or Monday.

According to the Doctors this type of Cancer is incurable. It is hard to type that because I don't think that is in my bible or in God's vocabulary. SO we are asking if God wills it that He cure this one. That blind man never thought He would see either. All I know is Shelley needs her Mom for a lot longer and our noodles need a Grandmother.

Shelley is doing as well as to be expected. She is an only child and as much as I would like to fix this for her I can't. I now since the frustration she must have felt only a few months ago as I was going through the pain of facing my Mother's mortality. She certainly needs your specific prayers to lift her up and give her peace and health. Our own health has suffered as a result of all the stress over the past year. But God is good. We love him so. What a wonderful savior who loves us beyond our comprehension. I don't know how people without Jesus make it through times like these.


Please pray for us all. I am being Mr. Mom with the GOD SENT help of Chelsea. If you didn't know, Chelsea was one of our girls at the Children's home who loved us enough to come and visit and WANTED to, imagine that!!! Her mother was always one of our staunchest supporters and was glad to have her come and see us. It was just one day after she got there that Carolyn fell and the rest is as they say...history.



Our noodles are doing GREAT. It consistently amazes me on a daily basis how smart our girls are. They are SO flexible and adjustable and loving and strong. God knew what He was doing when he gave us to each other. And just a note for all you future adoptive parents... those waiting through the endless days and nights of "I WANT MY BABY NOW!!!" God knows what He is doing, even if we don't. Therefore I defer to my brother Paul and agree with him in what he wrote to our brothers and sisters in Phillipi.




"...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Philippians 4:11-13



Content in all things. This too shall pass. I didn't think I would make it without my Mom and here it is over a month. Time heals all. Our noodles just love to play. I wish I were a noodle again sometimes.



Love to you all,

David, Shelley, Aly, Lili and Bailey.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Family emergency...won't be blogging for a bit

Hello all...I'll just jump right in and let you all know what is going on.

We got a phone call from my Dad the other night about midnight saying that the worst had happened. Mom was trying to get back into her wheelchair and got her feet twisted up and went to the floor. They were on their way to the ER and he would call when he knew something. Well, I'm not good at waiting!!!! I must have called them in the ER 400x before morning!!! Anyway...fast forward to today. Her left hip is broken and her right Tibia is fractured!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were going to surgery today on the Left hip to replace the ball (the joint is apparently okay). But then they determined that it would be more than they could handle at this hospital. So, she is back in her room and awaiting word of where they will transfer her to do the surgery.
I am heading down there tomorrow. Please pray for traveling mercies and for my Mother and for my Dad's sanity through it all!!!!!
I doubt I will be able to post from Florida, but then again...stranger things have happened. I will most likely post when I get back.
In HIS Mighty Grip...
here are a few pics of my Mom with Aly. I was in a hurry and couldn't seem to find any more recent ones...these are from back when we brought Aly home.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

How to put a baby to sleep...by Aly

I have been having trouble getting Lili to sleep at night. She has been freaked out every night because of the week of never ending fireworks we had to endure. She was absolutely TERRIFIED of them and it all comes back every night at bedtime. Anyway...I sat upstairs with Lili FOREVER trying to get her to sleep...or at least to stop screaming at full volume. Finally, I got her to sleep and wandered downstairs to David and Aly. Aly was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and I was telling David about what had just happened. So, then I hear from the bathroom...on the throne, I might add...
Um, Mom?
Yes Aly

I have lots of babies and I have to put them to sleep each night. The only thing I know is that when it is time for them to go to sleep and they don't want to, I sing them a lullaby. If that doesn't work, then I turn on some music for them. Thats all I know to do. I'm just saying thats all I know to do.
...sage advice from a three year old!!

Oh Mom...I'm so cute...are you really going to MAKE me go to bed??


Monday, July 9, 2007

Our day in the country...
Saturday was crazy around here. Everyone was stressed about something from David all the way down to Lili. So about 2 pm I told David that we needed to get out of here and go for a ride in the country.
We had a blast!! We got a kick out of this...


He was going to the store for something. I can hear it now...."Honey, will you run up to the store for some sugar?"
Anyway, Aly took some pictures too. Here they are...
Pretty good for a three year old...
But, by far...this was the funniest. I don't know why I didn't grab the camera earlier, but at least I got the ending of it...enjoy what happens when you make a three year old go for a ride in the country... (you will have to pause the music file at the bottom of the page)

Thursday, July 5, 2007

July 4th!!!!

The 4th is fun stuff at our house. It is David's birthday and since both of our girls became citizens of this amazing country the day they landed on US soil, it is pretty special for them as well!
Aly had a tradition of waking Daddy up on the 4th in her red Do-rag with her present and lots of homemade cards for him. Well, this year it was even better because Lili got to be a part of that tradition as well. They presented David with his new summer hat that they helped me to decorate. They also brought him his red bandana to wear. (Before you ask, they are NOT part of some gang!!) LOL


Daddy and his girlies
















Lili loves to kiss me... what can I say...I'm just so kissable!!!








Okay...on the count of three lets all just kiss each other!!!

Aly helped me to make Daddy's special "Death by Strawberry" cake that we make every year for his special day. It was SOOOOO yummy. Then around middle of the day we piled in the car and spent the rest of the day at a cookout with friends. Bryan and Gloria invited us to crash their family celebration and enjoy the day with them. Well, actually they weren't after us, they just wanted our girls!! They are first time adoptive parents waiting on their referral and are EAT UP with Aly and Lili. It is so funny and I remember the feeling OH SO WELL. (Lisa, do you remember when I used to race you to the nursery at church to be there when you came out with Allie???) Anyway, it was such a fun day with delicious food and wonderful friends to enjoy it with. The girls had a blast!! Aly got in on a volleyball game with the big kids (pics below) and she ate enough watermelon and cantaloupe to float a small army. She was absolutely EXHAUSTED by the time she crawled in bed last night. Lili was the center of attention and I don't think Gloria put her down but for about 5 minutes total during the whole day!! Lili was in Heaven!!
check out the pics-

I told Aly to take it easy on the older kids and not to "whomp 'em" too badly. She did great!!! They never knew what hit'em ;-)





Aly and her new best
playmates...













Poor thing about wiped herself out. We kept the water flowing, but she was still so hot!! After a break and some fresh fruit, she was ready to go at it again. Unfortunately the older kids were pooped...never mind it was nearly 100 degrees out there!!



So she decided to hang out with Daddy for awhile.


Daddy...do you want to share my strawberries?





Sure baby... but I'd rather share a kiss!!!
As far a Lili and her first 4th of July...poor poor Gloria spent about half the day with Lili doing this...










...and the other half of our visit with Lili
doing
this...


I don't think either one of them minded it one little bit. Do you see that smile on Gloria's face?? It started the minute I handed her over and stayed put all day long!! Oh...I hope they get their sweet baby girl soon!!
After a hard day of play (and sleep) out in the summertime heat we came home ate some dinner and started getting ready for bed. Unfortunately the neighbors had other plans. The fireworks started in our SUBDIVISION about 9PM. I couldn't believe that as dry as it has been, they would have been allowed, but they did it and Lili was TERRIFIED!!! They weren't just doing sparklers, they had the big firecrackers out there...you know...the kind they use for the town fireworks. They were shooting them off in the street!! Well, there was no way Lili was going to go to sleep, so I thought maybe if I went out on the porch so she could see what all the racket was about that maybe it would help. I'm not sure if it helped or not, but she stopped crying. She was too busy burrowing a hole into my chest with her head while she had a death grip on each of my shoulders. Poor baby!! I had to all but chain Aly to the porch as she kept wanting to go out into the street where they were shooting them from. She was loving every single minute of it, but I believe that Lili would rather have been anywhere on the planet other than our house!!
I can't wait for next years celebration. I can't wait to see what amazing things God has done in our lives over this next year. It is never a dull moment with us, so it should interesting to say the least. Just to see the changes in Lili over this next should be pretty awesome to witness!!
Hope your day was special too and that you made some wonderful memories for your family!!
Until next time~

Monday, July 2, 2007

Ah...Monday




Well, Miss Tiger Lili made a huge step forward this afternoon. David and I decided to throw them both in the bathtub this afternoon when we got home from Sweating...I mean shopping at Walmart. Usually that means Aly jumps in head first and has a blast from the minute she gets in until the minute she gets out. Lili, on the other hand, screams and cries getting in and then relaxes and has a good time. Then when it is time to get out she starts screaming again because she doesn't want to get out. Go figure! Anyway, she was prancing around wanting to get in today. She never did cry, had a blast playing and then got right out without so much as a whimper. I think we are indeed making progress!!


BTW...the water is orange because I put a "tub tint" into the water and the line on her forhead is from where she slammed into the wall at 90 MPH! Can you believe that it didn't break the skin??? This picture is from a few weeks ago. Isn't she just beautiful??


Here is another picture of her from when we were in SC a few weeks ago. I was floating around the pool with Aly on my back while pushing Lili in her float. It wasn't too terribly long before the princess decided to take a nap until this cruise was over. She probably slept like this for nearly 45 minutes. Aly and I thought it was hilarious and she was much less grumpy when she woke up!!!









Aly said something that just blew us away in the car today. She was talking about how she wasn't sure what she wanted to be when she grew up...maybe an artist or a ballerina. Finally she decided that she would be, "whatever God wants me to be." Does a heart good doesn't it?? ~SIGH~



Okay...I had some more pictures to post, but it won't let me upload them. I will try to post them later...I have to go put my big girl to bed!!!