Prayer Update

I just wanted to give you all a quick update about Kara...  A few days ago the Dr's starting turning down her sedatives and paralyzing medicines, and soon after she was wonderfully responsive, correctly answering hand squeeze commands, opening her eyes partway, trying to talk even with the ventilator tube still in, and moving her arms and legs. What an answer to prayer!  And she continues to AMAZE us with daily improvement! Now she is off the ventilator, her speech is getting more and more understandable and lucid, though she does still have some confusion, and she's able to stand with assistance. She's not been able to sleep really at all and she keeps trying to get out of bed to go home, so stopping her escape attempts all through the night is probably tedious. She will be moved out of ICU very soon, like today maybe. There have been many friends and family helping with night shift so Ward and Linda can take turns going back home to sleep. Kara still has a ways to go but it appears she is making a near full recovery! It's INCREDIBLE and we are sooo thankful!!

Thank you for your prayers and support!!

Never take a day for granted.

Saturday night my 16-yr old cousin Kara was at a youth event at a church where she suddenly collapsed, her heart stopped, she turned blue, and she was without oxygen for 10 MINUTES. Just like that. It took three shocks for the paramedics to finally get her heart going again and they could transport her to the hospital where she remains heavily sedated for several days while her brain rests. When they finally wake her they'll do an MRI to assess the damage, but friends, this is just not good. We have NO IDEA what to even expect and all we can do is wait.

We're an hour away so I was able to drive up yesterday to visit. It's just unbelievable.

She's a spirited 16-year old girl who loves musicals and books and Facebooking with her friends, and now there she is lying in a hospital bed while machines rhythmically raise and lower her chest and soft monitor beeps fill the room.

At the end of July my aunt Linda (Kara's mom) was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she is currently smack-dab in the middle of chemo treatments. We've all been covering her in prayer week after week.

And out of the blue this happens with Kara.

6 years ago Kara herself had bone cancer and one of the chemotherapy medicines decreased her heart function. She's since been cured of the cancer and has continued to be checked routinely for heart function and except for a slight decline this year, she'd been plateaued. No one EVER expected this. A massive heart attack at the age of 16. 

This all so overwhelming for such a sweet, loving family.  They are believers though and even in the middle of these darkest times, they continue to give glory to God. They continue to trust and lean on Him.

But please pray for this family. Pray for Kara that God would heal whatever damage is in her brain and she would make an amazing recovery. Pray for Linda that she'd stay healthy even though she's being exposed to soo many friends and visitors during this time. Pray for Ward as he watches the two loves of his life suffer. 

Thank you.

Prayers for the little guy. And a worried momma.

So Carter just started rolling from back to tummy the last few days and now that's ALL he wants to do even though he gets mad when he gets there because he doesn't know yet how to roll back off of it. When I put him down for nap he rolls to his belly, and unless I were to sit next to his bed and be a Nazi about it and keep flipping him back over and making him mad, then he ends up falling asleep on his belly. Not a big deal. BUT he likes to sleep on his face. ON his face!! Nose down into the bed (pack n play still)! It's really got me nervous, I feel like I have to keep checking him all throughout his sleep time, but if I try to turn his head a little he wakes up. Arg. With fans going and his sound machine going I can't use a baby monitor to listen for his breathing. All I hear is the fan or crying.

I tried our old sleep positioner but he totally rolls out of that. I tried him in his sleep sack last night, but that didn't make a difference. He's already asleep when I put him down at night and when I feed him in the night so last night wasn't such a big deal because he does mostly stay on his back then, but throughout all his naps during the day I feel like I really have to keep close watch.
Well, I looked it up online tonight and found a mom seeking advice on a forum about the same deal--baby likes to sleep with face completely in the crib mattress! Baby's same age as Carter. And many of the replies on the forum were from other moms who could relate. In the end, they were all told that Baby can breathe and by this age Baby will move his head if he can't. It's really nice to know others have been through this same thing, but I'm still worried. I don't like this at all. It's awful worrying for your baby's LIFE. I'm hoping it's a short phase and he'll learn/grow to prefer putting his face all the way to the side.

So anyway, pray for Carter's safety. And pray for this worried momma that God would give me peace about it. Thanks, friends!

B-Day prayer requests.

Baby Day that is. I had an appointment yesterday--went well, I'm 3 cm dilated already but I know it's common to sit that way for a couple weeks, I'm not effaced, so I'm not getting hyped about labor starting tomorrow or anything. But it is a reminder that the day is coming soon! Specific prayer requests regarding our upcoming delivery:

* Decent traveling weather. Having no snow removal for our country lane other than a shovel and friendly neighbors, we've been seriously snowed in several times in the last month, and I can't help but feel slightly concerned for what it could be like during baby time. Yes, we've delivered at home before but not by ourselves (thanks to paramedics!) and we certainly wouldn't choose to do that again! So pray that the roads are fine that day and we're able to get safely to the hospital 35 min away.

* Childcare. We have a few people in mind to watch the kids when it's "time", so we pray that when the time comes it all falls into place smoothly and quickly and our people are available.

* Labor itself. It's not a fun process, so I'm praying that it too will go smoothly and fairly quickly but not too quickly! Hoping that it will be a fairly fast labor, I'm going to try to do it without an epidural, just because it was so much "easier" to actually feel what was going on, as crappy as it hurts. I'm thankful for the epidural I had for Eli because his was such a LONG labor and I'd had NO sleep the night before, but if it's going to be a short deal then I'm going to try to tough it out. This time I'm going to drink a lot of nettle tea along with the regular raspberry leaf tea the week of labor and see if that helps diminish labor pains. Most importantly though we're praying for no complications and a safe delivery.

* The baby. A strong and healthy baby!

* Breastfeeding. Eli was terrible at nursing and it never did work for us, and Hannah was great, so I'm praying that this baby will latch on right away and breastfeeding will be a joy instead of a heart-wrenching battle.

* The kids. Praying that they will transition well to the new baby and Mommy's new demands.

* Me. Comfort during these final days, patience for the wait, strength to endure labor, and energy for all that is to come.

Again, I know that God has every detail worked out already. Good or bad, it is all for His glory. Thanks for praying, and if you know of any encouraging Bible verses for this time in life, I'd love to hear! You're such dear friends!

no words.

My friend jay passed away this morning. I'm still in shock over this and just so sad. If I can figure it out with my parents or Kevin to watch the kids, I'd really like to try to make it to the funeral this week. Please pray for all the family and friends. thank you.

Thy will be done.

UPDATE: My parents watched the kids yesterday so I could drive (3 more hrs away) to visit Jay and Lauren while I could. And oh, I'm sooo thankful for that time! Jay was actually the perkiest he'd been since he arrived at hospice last Friday (I think). He was up and sitting in a chair. He was awake and talking (a little bit), and he even tried to eat! But then all that excitement made him nauseous and he fell asleep. He can talk still but only a few short words, mumbled, he's starting to lose mobility (started with his right hand, now it's his whole ride side), and yesterday he said it was getting hard to chew. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for him to not be able to do things he used to. I have no idea how he's feeling inside about the idea of death. His pain is under control, and the family all seems to be doing very well, so long as Jay isn't hurting (physically). I guess he's been fighting this battle since February, but in all he's been fighting this battle off and on for about 6 years! And one way or another, it will soon be over.

But...

I'm still praying for a miracle. And I hope you'll pray with me.

Dear God,
We still know that you can do this. You can take this tumor out of Jay, so he can get up again and live to tell a wonderful story. You have the power to move mountains, calm the seas, and raise people from the dead. Please heal Jay and make him well again! Take all his pains away! But above all, we pray for Your will to be done. We know that you have a plan for Jay. You have his days numbered. You already know how this journey will go. And we know that YOUR plan is THE BEST plan, even if we don't understand it today, tomorrow, or even in 10 years. We know that good will come out of this. And we pray that in all of this YOU will still be glorified! Be with everyone surrounding this situation; comfort, strengthen, and love them, and bring them peace that passes all understanding. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Original post follows:

I just found out yesterday morning that a college friend is now in hospice and expected to die anywhere between the next couple days to couple weeks. He's two years younger than me, so probably 24 years old. Since he was a senior in high school he's been battling on and off with a brain tumor. He fights hard and then appears to be "in the clear"... until the next appearance. I don't know if his latest seizure the other night was out of the blue or if he'd already been fighting, but either way, we know there's not much time. I wasn't real close with him, but he's a music friend I saw and spent time with most every day in college, and with groups like that you really get bonded with everyone. So even though I haven't kept in touch well since I graduated 4 years ago, I am deeply saddened by what's about to come. I just can't comprehend it. I've never even seen him sick. He and his new wife are both such happy people, always laughing about something, so it's hard to imagine that it's come to this, for real.

I'm thinking about going home this afternoon so I can visit them while I can. Just pray for everyone surrounding this situation, that God would glorified through all of this.

My friend's name is Jay, his wife is Lauren, and they both are Christian, praise the Lord!

Pray for Stellan

Today I'm asking prayers for MckMama's baby Stellan. He was diagnosed with heart failure while in the womb at 20 weeks but carried through a full pregnancy and was born completely healed! It was a miracle and now he's something like 5 months old now. Last night he was taken to the ER and is still having serious troubles with a high heart rate of ~250 BPM! The doctors are trying to get it to slow down but nothing seems to be working, and we know his little heart can only take that for so long. So please pray for this family!! Go to their blog to check for updates.

Devastated.

I couldn't possibly be more disappointed right now. Remember the flood that I posted about yesterday? Well, apparently it's worked its way up the river (or whatever floods do) to where Kevin's sister and her husband live in Minnesota and flooded their basement. It's pretty bad, and now the whole family can't come for their visit. They were supposed to arrive later today and be here until Tuesday. We haven't seen them since Christmas, and they haven't seen Hannah yet at all. And now we won't see them again until September probably. Kevin's mom has several health problems, and her strength in her arms isn't very good. I was sooo excited for her to be able to hold her baby granddaughter while she's still small enough. I knew it would be very special for her. And now that may not happen ever, as Hannah might be too big come mid-September. Just adds to all of it. I'm very very very disappointed and in tears. Please pray.

Under water!

My home state of Iowa is getting some MAJOR flooding right now! My parents are okay where they're at, but in eastern Iowa the little town where I went to college and where many of my friends stayed after graduation is really suffering. My friends and many others have had to evacuate their homes until this all goes down. So please keep them in your prayers! Check out these pictures...

Even the stop sign is almost lost.

Notice the shelter house at this park.

Prayers for the Sick

We're now only 4 days from my due date and everyone at our house is stricken with sickness this week. Monday both Eli and Kevin had a yucky tummy bug. Tuesday and Wednesday Kevin's been much better but Eli's had some nasty, runny poops. God gave me the strength to get through those rough first days when I was cleaning up vomit and poop, but now today I'm feel pretty yucky with nausea, and Kevin's still not up to par. So... pray that we are well again SOON! I'm not worried though. I trust that Baby will not come until God knows we're ready and healthy. And even if we're not, He'll give us the strength for labor and the infant will be protected by mommy's antibodies. But still, pray we're all better soon! We're getting anxious to meet Baby Girl!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for our soon-to-arrive Baby Girl! I am thankful that God has brought me through a healthy, full-term (as of this Sunday), decently comfortable pregnancy. (pic) I am thankful for the joy she already brings to our lives. I am thankful that God already knows all her days. He knows when she will arrive and how she will arrive. It seems every couple days I'm saying to myself, "Ooo, I'm glad I didn't go into labor that day! ...Eli was throwing up, or our family to watch Eli was stricken with the flu, or this event was going on." GOD KNOWS. He knows the number of her days, who she will become, who she will marry, if she marries. He already has that all planned out, and it's exciting to think about! I can't wait for the story to all unfold and to meet my beautiful baby girl...

In the meantime, here are my prayer requests for these last couple weeks and delivery:
* comfort and good rest through the rest of the pregnancy. I'm feeling great, BUT in the evenings around 8-10pm Baby Girl starts going crazy in there and her movements are very uncomfortable! she's running out of room in there!
* good timing of labor. Because we have to depend on other families to watch Eli while we're in the hospital, I pray that the timing all works itself out such that we're not inconveniencing these wonderful friends who have offered to take care of our sweet boy.
* natural labor BEFORE the due date! (please!) Or just patience, maybe. I went 7 days past the due date with Eli and though it doesn't seem like a big deal, it was. I was comfortable but the emotions you go through as each day passed was pretty awful!
* obviously, for an uncomplicated labor and healthy baby
* that Baby Girl can breastfeed just fine. I had a miserable time with Eli. He just could not get it, even though I was doing everything right. We tried for several weeks, but even after seeing two different lactation consultants, it wasn't any better and we gave up. It was very emotionally challenging as a mother who really wanted that relationship with her baby. So I pray that it goes better this time!
* the transition for Eli as we welcome a new baby into our home. In a couple weeks he'll be 19 months, so he doesn't really understand what's going on. He'll find out soon enough!
* safe travels for family and friends that will be visiting soon after!

Okay, I think that's about it. Thank you all for your wonderful prayers! I'll keep you updated!

For more thankful posts, visit Iris! Have a great week, dear friends!

Prayer Request

I know just yesterday I had a thankful post for the spiritual growth God is doing in me, and for that I AM thankful. But there is another area of my life that weighs heavy on my heart and has for quite some time. But only occasionally Satan gets the best of me, and this weekend is it. I won't go into detail, but God knows what it is. So if you're here today, will you send a prayer my way?? Thank you so much...