Teach, Your Children Well...

Teach your children well, and know they love you....   Crosby Stills Nash and Young sang it well.  While I am not familiar with the whole song, I have heard that part of the song throughout the years. I never really thought about those words until the past few days. 

 I remember from a very young age, playing with my dolls and dreaming of the day that I would get to be the parent.  Like most little girls, I had the names of all my kids picked out.  Apparently I had watched a lot of Happy Days, because my parents tell me that I wanted my daughter to be named Pinkie, after one of the characters on the show.  I also came up with the clever idea that I would also have children named Yellowy, Bluey, and yes, sadly, Greenie.  Not one of my proudest moments, but I can laugh about it now.    I also remember growing up having to do chores.  In my mind I had it all planned out, I would NEVER make my kids do chores.  I would never subject them to any hard work and dash their dreams of constant play.   This was back in the day where dishwashers were a luxury.  Like most, we had to wash and dry them by hand.  My sister and I fought like cats and dogs and being forced to stand less than two feet apart only heightened our contempt for each other.  Although some days we would make up silly little diddy's but that's whole other story.  I remember this one particular time, there was quite the large amounts of dishes.  I don't know about you, but having to do the dishes, was the bane of my existence!!   I was pretty easy going as a child, but still I could get pretty hot under the collar.  This was one of those moments.  It had been chili or spaghetti night, which meant large dishes!  I remember thinking to myself and I can't remember if I actually vocalized it or not, but for sure I thought it, "I will never make my kids do the dishes."  This time a string in my brain got plucked because as soon as the thought passed  through my mind, I, being the Einstein that I was, realized that meant I'd be doing the dishes for the rest of my life!!  Shortly there after I decided to renege on my thought.

After having Aurora, I began to set up this fantasy of what a great Mom I would be.  Yes, we would sing and dance, and my kids would be my best friends!!  I would be cross between Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews and my kids would follow behind me like little ducklings!  It sure was a nice thought.  I am sure some day my kids are going to get a huge kick out of that.  Then I had Elijah and everything changed.  As soon as he was born, I changed.  I believe he was about 3 months old and a rather traumatic event happened up at the hospital.  My mothering skills were put into question over something so trivial, but it crushed me to the very core.  From that day forward I became a Mama Bear.  I did anything and everything I could to protect him, I didn't care how unreasonable I was being.  I went from being an offensive player to both offensive and defensive.  Sounds tiring right?   It was.  My guard had to be constantly up and aware, it was overwhelming. 

I'd like to say that I have changed, but I haven't.  In fact after Elijah died, it magnified everything more than I could have ever imagine.  After Isaiah was born, I was determined to protect him from anything and everything.  So much so that every thing was baby proofed and then some.  Our poor family and friends who babysat were petrified to be alone with him, as they were afraid of anything happening to him on their watch.  Then Aria joined the ranks and I had to release some of that control as it was exhausting to do this with 2 children.  Do you remember the show Tiny Toons?  I would liken myself to Elmyra.  She would smother any tiny creature with so much love that the poor things would do anything to escape!   I just love them so much that I don't want anything to happen to them and I have lost touch with G-d in this area.  I often hear other parents say they have to release their kids to G-d when something is out of their control.  I know that they are right, my kids aren't mine, they are His.  Yet my love for them yearns to protect them in any way that I can.

So getting sick was not part of my plan.  In the past year and a half, I have had to release the kids to many people to babysit.  I have had to relinquish my desires for things to be certain way and even let them go make memories without me.  With each trip to the hospital, we would have to drop the kids off with family and I would cry as we drove away.  In fact, I pretty much cried throughout each stay.  Why was crying?   Yes for the pain and the fear of the unknown, but mainly, it was the fact that I never got to be the Mom that I thought I should have been.  I have been so busy trying to protect the kids that I really hadn't been able to have fun with them.  We used to go to the park, go on bike rides, play dates, library, anything to go out and have fun.  Then I got sick and everything got put on hold.  At the time, my biggest sadness was that they wouldn't remember what I had done with them. Isaiah since then has revealed many memories of what we used to do.  At first I was relieved, but then I saw the great sadness in his eyes of what used to be.  Even sadder yet, me not being able to give him a time frame of when all of this would get better. 

Yes, I know there are many other kids in worse situations.  Some are abused and neglected, some their parent/s have died, etc...  I know, it could always be worse.   All I could think about was, but this wasn't supposed to be how this happened.  After the kids died, I just figured that we were free and clear of any more disasters, that I had made it through the fire and all would be well.  I guess that's not how things work.   I know I am not alone in my thought process as I have heard it through my friends and family, expressions of longing for a child or spouse that had been deceased, a divorce, infertility, financial woes, chronic illness, sudden death, you name it, some one is going through it.  Some how the great deceiver has us believing that we are all alone, no one else understands my pain, no one cares....  It just gets ugly.

Fast forward to this winter.  The sickness has been flying faster than trapeze artists up in the air.  So we have chosen to homeschool for a short time.  Granted, I began this choice out of fear.  I know many people who homeschool.  They are Mom's who seem to have been born with patience and extra grace.  I truly respect these women as they love what they do and most do a bang up job.  But me??  I am not one of those Proverbs 31 wives/mothers.  So who would have thought what has emerged?  I love it.  I love being with my kids.  For the first time in a year and a half, I feel like a Mom again.  We are reading books with voracious appetites.  I got to teach Isaiah about fractions today, FRACTIONS!!!  I struggled so hard with this concept as a child, so I was pretty scared.  After we got done with our lesson, Isaiah says "I love fractions!!"  Then we discussed symmetrical and asymmetrical and he actually got it!  He started to point at various things and explaining why it was one or the other.  My heart leapt with joy and I felt as though I wanted to swing on the ceiling fan while having a flashback to the scene in Annie where all the servants sing and dance!  So I got a bit carried away, but it was fun!   I have been able to release this inner Mom in me that I had hoped was deep inside. 

Believe me, I am no Mom of the year.  I truly believe G-d graced me with such sweet kids, He made them, not me.  I never thought I would be such an old school Mom.  I believe in the basics to teach good manners and respect.  I am not here to be your friend, but I am here to love you and protect you with all that I know how to do.  We have been working hard on several words, organization, respect, and good effort.   It's been challenging and yet, quite amazing to see how much they are responding to my one on one interaction with them.  Mainly because I haven't been able much at all this last year.  It's given me a sense of renewed purpose.  I had pretty much written myself off and figured I have just been weighing the family down.  It turns out they want me there, I have been missed.  On the days I am not feeling well, we take it easy and on the days I feel good, we do extra. 

Today, they were getting on their snow gear and Seth and I were talking them through each task.  Isaiah can do almost everything, but putting on gloves is a great struggle.    I began to laugh at one point as he was grunting quite loudly, he did not take kindly to this gesture.  I was laughing at how cute he looked.  He's just growing up so fast and it always catches me off guard when he struggles with something.  He's always been such a little adult that I cherish moments like that, it gives me purpose.  We talked him through it and cheered when he achieved success in getting the gloves on!   I caught myself laughing.   It was if time had stood still.  They are only young once.  Kids are so impressionable. They are eager to please, even in stubborn streaks.  They crave our love and yearn for our approval.  As parents, we do too.  Let's face it, between Seth and I, he is the popular choice.  Little did I know, they have been releasing little glimpses of how they see me.  It was nothing of what I thought they would think.  They love being with me, I am the singer, the silly dancer, the boo boo kisser, the prayer.   I am, Mom.  

Through out many of the days that we have spent together, some where my health is good and some, not so much, I get to build them up with love.  While we can't provide them with trips to Disney World, or even Chuck E Cheese for that matter, they are content with just being loved well.  I have learned that when I am having a bad day, to excuse myself, vent in another room and protect them from the harshness of what their little hearts don't need to learn just yet.  By no means am I perfect, in fact I am pretty broken.  It's in my brokenness I am learning to cherish the simple things and to try that much harder not to get caught up with the big stuff.   In a way I have regressed, but maybe it's not such a bad thing.  I can't believe I am even saying that.  It's forced me to take down my walls of my self made fortress.  My fortress was built to protect me from all of the hurts of my life, but in the fortress of keeping out the some bad things, it's also blocked me from receiving good things. 

I never realized it before, but I am believer in everything happens for a reason.  I have had few people in my life that have reminded me that just because pain has happened, doesn't mean it hasn't allowed space for good.  Growing hurts.  I guess if we don't ever feel pain, how do we grow??  Better yet, I know that the more I hurt, the more I cling to G-d.  I have that deep rooted hope that this is all for a greater good, even if I am not there to see it.  Maybe if I hadn't gotten sick, I would never have gotten the opportunity to stop and slow down and get that taste that I might be that Mom I had hoped I would be?  Maybe in me being sick, I am having to step down and release this false sense of control that I thought I had and really let G-d take the reigns?  In this that also means letting my husband get into the position of the role he was meant to take and for me to assume mine?  Maybe I can finally grasp what I teach my kids all of the time, we are here to live for G-d, not for ourselves?

I have always had a deep yearning for G-d to be close.  I have experienced His presence a few times in my life.  It's an amazing experience and once you have tasted it, you crave it always.  As I look at my children's faces and truly just let go of every worry, it all seems so surreal.

Raising kids isn't what I thought it would be.  I thought it would be easy, but it isn't.  In fact, it really is one of the hardest jobs. Not because of the all the messy stuff, but because G-d is entrusting this little one's life in my hands.   Everything I say and do, will impact them and how they will function for the rest of their life.  That's pretty serious stuff.  So with each task I am allowed to teach them, I take it as an honor to be able to participate in their life.   We only have one shot at them being young, it'll be their choice as they grow older to come home and want to visit.  It'll be their choice to decide if G-d is real.  It'll be their choice to see how they look at the world.  It'll be their choice to choose how to act.  So I am reminded of how precious this time is even as I get frustrated when they don't listen or when I get scared because of something out of my control, because I too have a choice on how to set an example everyday.  How I react will impact them for years to come. Do I want to teach fear or love?  It is so true to "teach your children well...and know they love you."

Watch, pray, believe, and be amazed.

Mosaic

I keep on trying to find the right way to start this post, but have found myself writing and deleting quite a bit.  Thankfully, I don't have to write this all out in long hand or else there would be quite a bit of crumpled up balls of paper every where.   We have gotten quite a bit of snow over the past week.  The kids are loving it and are constantly begging to go out side.  Seth of course has gone beyond the building a snow man and has instead helped the kids create an igloo at the bottom of their slide.   It just cracks me up to see them all bundled up in their snow gear to the point that they waddle around like little penguins.  Since it's been so cold, we have been extra careful to protect their little lungs.   So we have added the "Christmas Story" look, where their ensemble is topped off with a scarf that is wrapped up to their eyes!  All you can see is their tiny eyes peering out from a sea of pink/black and orange/black.    They don't complain though, they are more than thrilled to be able to explore the winter wonderland that they haven't really seen much of in the past couple of years.  

Due to all of the snow, we have almost went into hibernation mode.  We hit up the library for as many books as we could grab, so that we could have plenty of story time.  I have the kids read with me to get used to reading out loud.  If you ever wonder how you sound or what frequent words you say, just have a kid around.  Apparently, I change my voices with each character, and both of them have picked up on that.  I have to hold back the laughter in hearing Aria and Isaiah changing their tones with a man or woman character.   It's been a world of wonder for me to see how much they have grasped at punctuation and changing how a sentence sounds.   It took me at least until 2nd or 3rd grade to figure that out.   Isaiah is adding and subtracting double digits, he truly loves math.   We have also taken up spelling, although it is by far his least favorite subject.  They are starting to get into Winnie the Pooh!  They haven't really shown any interest until they saw the Tigger movie, now it's exploded into begging to see another.  Hey, if I can have Spider Man not enter the house for a little while longer, that's fine by me!  The biggest thing that I have become aware with the both of them, is their hearts.  I have noticed that they are really becoming aware of compassion.  I have been battling a 5 day tension headache.  This thing will just not go away.  I had to finally lie down and told the kids to play quietly in the room next to me.  After a while, Isaiah quietly tip toed into my room and sweetly said "How is your head Mommy?"  He stroked my hair and just smiled at me.   His sweet soul was truly concerned about how I felt.  I was waiting for a request on his part, but the only thing he wanted was for me to feel better.   I struggle with the guilt of them seeing me fall apart.  On the days I feel good, I try really hard to make the best go of it.   I feel so guilty to think that I am not out there helping create a snow maze, wolfing down dinner, or having kids come over for play dates.   It's the simple things I wish I could do, nothing extravagant, just simple.

This week I has been an emotional battle ground, for myself.   I have been dealing with a lot of old issues, mixed in with the new and it's created quite the storm.  I hit bottom and felt myself crying out to the Lord for mercy, as it was the only else that I could do.   I even tried to take a break from  Facebook to try and clear my head and not focus on what everyone else was doing.   I just needed some time to focus on what it is that I can do.   It left me to face my fears straight in the eye and I did not like what I saw.  

Since taking my break from Facebook, I have been able to catch up with my friends on the phone.  I forgot how much I missed talking with people, it's just not the same as Facebook.  While I get to see bits and pieces, I missed the heart and soul of what others are going through.  Most people are healthy enough to have get togethers, so they are getting the full picture.  For me, being in a shut in status, at the moment, it's harder to do.  So I was able to pick up the phone and be able to connect with friends, some of them I had no idea how bad they were hurting.  I was able to see that I am not the only one suffering, only the suffering presents itself in a wide variant of forms.  The best part, I was just able to listen.  I knew I couldn't change their situation, but I could listen as they poured their hearts out.  It has been humbling.   Don't get me wrong, FB is great to keep in touch.  I am just more aware that I need to reach out to others, just as much as I needed them to reach out to me.   

As I spoke with my friend Stephanie last night (she is the one who just got her second feeding tube placement) she informed me that the feeding tube recovery wasn't going as well as had been hoped.  This week she is going to have TPN placed.  This was something she had hoped to avoid.  I sat there as she explained all that has been going on.  It's enough that I wish I could go to every GI doc in the world and beg them to do more to help people with gastroparesis!  We need food to survive and we need more research!   After I hung up the phone I just sat there begging for G-d's help and asking "why?"

I was then reminded of a thought.  I had written about this after Elijah had died.    I believe it was in the book of Job, where we hear about the reference that G-d is the potter and we are the clay.   I almost imagine with each of us we are all made so unique.  Some of the pieces sit as they are, where as, some are painted, some get fired in the kiln (sometimes more than one), well, you get the picture.  I imagine all of us are a part of that clay.  We are all in different shapes and sizes.   As we grow, sometimes we get bumped into, dropped, and even smashed.  To us, we look broken, unsalvageable.  We feel as though we are damaged goods with each blow.  To us, we see nothing but a mess on the floor.  Or worse yet, we feel it.   Then there is G-d.  He is the one who loves us unconditionally.  Where we are let down time after time by loved ones, acquaintances, even strangers, He doesn't.  This is hard to admit when you double over in pain.  I have cried out many a time asking where He is.  Sometimes He answers quickly, while others, it's as though He is silent.  Silently I imagine him looking at my shattered mess, all of my hurts, my kids death's, my illness, etc.   He sweeps me up into the dust pan, and just when I think He is going to throw me out, He places me on his work table.   He then seems to dust off each piece of me and places me into a frame.  I can't quite see the frame and I have no idea what He is doing.  When out comes the little dabbles of hope/glue to stick me into this frame.   I guess what I imagine is all us in our hurts, both big and small, are placed together to connect each other.  In all our brokenness, He places us together to create a big beautiful mosaic picture that only He can see.  What we see is broken shattered pieces, He sees a collage of beauty and color.  Without Him, we are nothing but clay, dust.  With Him, we become a part of a bigger picture that is even more beautiful that we can imagine.   Some lives are snuffed out before they even begin, some while they are young, some while they are old, but each of them have a place, and a true purpose.    A purpose that G-d knows and adores. 

I am asking for some heavy duty prayers.  First, for my friend Stephanie.  Please pray that her body would respond to this TPN in a positive way and be able to gain weight.  Also that her whole system would work as it should.  I am asking for prayers for wisdom.  I am supposed to go for Botox at U of M on Friday and we are trying to be obedient to what G-d wants for me.  Also for prayers for G-d to show us what to do for some pretty big decisions.  As always, for healing, whatever that looks like.  Peace is so under rated and yet I  yearn for heaps of it!

Watch, pray, believe, and be amazed.    

For G-d has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2 Tim. 1:7









































































 











  









 

Laughter

With all of my heavy writing, I thought you might enjoy a change of pace.  Two posts, two days in a row, I am on fire!  I thought I would share with you how silly our family can be.   We aren't one's to go to the movie theater, so we are pretty behind when it comes to the latest movies.  We tend to watch them when they are aired on the TV.  Well, we finally watched Despicable Me.  I was a bit hesitant to allow the kids to watch it, as I didn't know if it would be scary, but I figured as long as we were in room we'd know quickly.   I was pretty surprised how cute the movie really was.   Normally Seth and I are running back and forth doing things, so unless it's the weekend, we tend to not watch movies.    Yesterday it just happened that we all ended up in the room with time on our hands, YAY!   We were all pretty much belly laughing through the whole movie.  I don't know if you have ever seen it, but the youngest girl had us in stitches!   She reminded me a bit of Aria.  Aria loves My Little Ponies, unicorns, and Pegasus.  So did this little girl.  At one point they are at a theme park.  The little girl really wants this unicorn, and so the whole gang is trying to help her out.  It turns out that the game is fixed, so they are sorely disappointed that they can't win.  The lead character Gru, ends up taking care of business, and they end up getting the toy through a not so likely manner.  Anyways, the part that cracked me up was the little girl finally obtaining the toy and then squeezing it and saying in a crazy deep voice "It's SO FLUFFY!"   We were all laughing so hard, that ended up rewinding it several times, just to laugh some more.   You are probably like, I don't get it, but seriously I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!   The kids were even more hyped up to see Mom and Dad busting a gut.   It has been a long time since we have really been able to sit back and relax, a good time was had by all.  

Later in the evening Seth read the kids the Narnia series.  I believe they are in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Seth grew up hearing his Dad read this to him and his siblings before bed, so he is eager to carry on the tradition.  The kids beg him to read and really are quite eager for this special time.  We sent the kids off to bed with Isaiah listening to The Odyssey and Aria up with her butterfly lights aglow in her room.  I heard a couple of belly laughs out of Isaiah and then all was quiet.   I pretty much assumed we would have an uneventful night. 

I haven't been sleeping very well lately.  So I have been trying to make sure the room is dark and just lie their and pray for as many people as I can remember.  It took a while, but finally my eye lids got heavy and I was asleep.  It felt like only 5 minutes had passed when I realized that Seth was gone.  I was completely disoriented.  I have to laugh at the thought that I actually was having trouble figuring out where I was and what time of the night it was.  I'll never forget one time in high school waking up and panicking because of  thinking I was going to be late (I you can't tell, I hate being late).  I had jumped in the shower did my hair (took an hour to curl back then)  and got dressed.  I don't know how long it took me only to realize, it was only 3 in the morning.  Well, it was kind of one of those moments.  I ended up getting out of bed to search for Seth and try to figure out what had happened.  He was a little more with it than I was, but both of us were stumbling around like two clunky robots who batteries are dangerously low.  Seth informed me that Aria's ear was hurting, so he was looking for the ear drops.  All I could see was this flash light flickering around as both of us our naming off one of the many places it could be.  If I had been thinking any clearer, I would have realized that if it wasn't in the medicine cabinet or in the med cubbie, that meant were out.  Thank the Lord there was two of us, as we both collaborated and came up with the ingenious idea,  Zyrtec (from me) and Tylenol (from Seth).  Zyrtec, that was my brilliant idea??  Seriously Seth one upped me on this round.  Pretty much from that point on Aria was up, on and off and I kept on thinking I was hearing her cry.  Seth went to the pharmacy as soon as it opened and was able to get our favorite pharmacist to fill the prescription in a snap.  Seth later told me, while he was coaxing Aria to allow him to take the ear drops, he pulled out Angry birds to distract her.  Her bed is right under a window, and Seth was leaning back on it.  As soon as he leaned forward, the shade snapped up and the sun was starting to peak through.  Aria sits up and says, "it's morning!"  in her sing song voice.  Seth is trying his hardest to get her to go back to bed, being that it is the crack of dawn!  Just when Seth finally got her to consider going back to sleep, a charity came by and rang the door bell.  Seth is totally baffled that anyone would even consider ringing a door bell this early in the morning.  Poor Seth.  I am deaf as a door nail, so I was none the wiser to all that was going on.  I just remember going into Aria's room and talking with her.  I couldn't figure out how she was so perky and awake.  I just have to laugh.  I know you probably have encountered many situations like this.  The whole thing is so ridiculous that it takes the two of us to discuss over his break what had really happened!  
 
Sleep deprivation, do you have any of these stories?

I'll never forget the time when Isaiah was only a few months old.  We were both so sleep deprived and apparently I was having a realistic dream.   I was always terrified that I was going to roll over on him and smother him, so I was afraid to sleep with him.  A friend of ours had this actually happen to them and their son died, so I was pretty paranoid.  Well, between middle of the night feedings I had fallen asleep with Isaiah, or so I had thought.  I woke up hysterical and started yelling at Seth "where is the baby?  Where is he?!  Oh my Lord, we lost the baby!"  Seth is completely disoriented and is walking around the room in a daze.  When I realize that he isn't getting what I am saying, I am hysterical.  I am clawing and the sheet and digging around yelling like a deranged circus monkey yelling "WHERE IS MY BABY!!"  Seth finally gets it and starts digging in the sheet.  People, it was a sheet in the middle of summer.  Not blankets upon blankets, like the winter, but a sheet.   Seth runs downstairs (I am seriously laughing while typing this) and I am checking the floor (our house is small too, so there isn't many places to lose a baby in our house) when all of the sudden Seth goes, "Kelly."  By now, I might as well be frothing at the mouth with how panicked I am.  "What!" I insanely reply.  "He's right here."  "Where?" I am stupefied.  "In the crib, sound asleep."  Seth just starts laughing as he hops back into bed.  What makes the situation even more nuts, was Isaiah's crib was in our bedroom.  I run over, there he is soundly asleep.  Soundly..... Which is more than I can say about his crazy mother.   I can't stop laughing!  

I can name so many other times like being in the PICU with Elijah.  Seth and I are sleeping on a one person cot.  Thank the Lord both of us were skinny as picks or else they would have made us go home (they didn't have places for parents to sleep then).  I'll never forget being up all night with Eli, and then finally falling asleep on this tiny chair with Seth slammed up against my back.  We were packed in there about as tight as sardines in a can.  I remember waking up to voices and sitting up with my hair resembling that of a Cockatoo.  I opened my eyes and their stood the whole team of doctors and interns.  There were at the very least 7 doctors all staring at Seth and I.  I was so embarrassed as we are trying to ask them serious questions all the while having the thought process of an ameba. 

I can only imagine the stories the kids are going to have of us.  They are already starting to pick up on funny things, so gone are the days of pretending it's all good, with them none the wiser. 

I am not one to quote TV, as I get easily annoyed when someone is explaining something that you have no idea what they are talking about.  I ended up seeing the Stephen Kind movie It when I was much too young.  If anyone of you have ever seen this movie, well it pretty much makes you scared of clowns for life.   Suffice to say, I hate clowns.  Late one night I hear Seth laughing like crazy, he can barely get the words out.  All I hear is him saying the words "Little Ceaser's, clown, and honk."  He knows I am terrified of them, which is the only reason that this is even funny.  I am like, WHAT?  Well, if you get the chance to ever see the Little Ceaser's commercial with two girls walking in the woods and they are discussing that there is a crazy clown loose in the woods.  The other girl talks about the $5 pizza, when all of the sudden a clown jumps of the bushes and says "your both right!" and then proceeds to honk his horn and run away.  I must have had a look of sheer horror on my face, because Seth is laughing even harder.  His laughter is contagious, so I joined in.  I don't even know why I am writing about this, I must be so over tired.  I guess I thought it was so funny and any time you see it, you can think about me and all those who are terrified of clowns, and how awful that would be if it really happened LOL.

I am laughing even now and the kids keep on asking me why I am laughing.  If laughter is the best medicine, I have gotten a good dose.  This post is completely pointless, but I hope it might have made you laugh.  I figured with all the tears we have shared, we should also share in the dorky moments.  It'll keep us young. If you have a good story, feel free to share, I can always use another dose;D



Here's the clip if you want to see what I am talking about


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4i7vS_UO4Q

The Power of Peace

If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago where I would be today, I would have said "U of M, having botox."  We ended up watching a church service about prayer, and listening to G-d.  I had found that my food intake was really low, but still everything in me was afraid to go to the hospital.   I just have found that going to medical facilities is increasing my anxiety ten fold, especially with the doom flu going around.  I found myself tossing back and forth over doing it or not.  Botox has really helped me in the past, but the more you use it, the less effective.  Not only that, but it is a toxin.   I kept finding myself thinking if it might be temporarily helping me, but in the long term???  No one knows what damage it could be causing.  Not to say that I won't do it if I don't need to, but I want to be at peace with my decision.   In the struggle to make my decision, I found myself at G-d's mercy, not praying for healing, but for mercy and wisdom.   I just want to be at peace no matter the circumstances.   For some people, this may be easy to attain.  For me, patience is a thorn in my side.   So we started taking time out of our night and just sat still and waited for G-d to speak to us.   To those of you who are wondering, no I didn't hear his audible voice.  In fact, I didn't recieve any big sign.  What I did get was worth more than I had ever imagined, His peace.  I am so thankful that I wish I could kiss Him!  My health hasn't changed, the circumstances haven't changed, but it was His peace that all of the sudden put out the fiery panic attacks that seemed to be choking me with fear.   We rescheduled for early February.  We will continue to seek what it is that we should be doing, as we all know G-d works through modern medicine as well.  We also thank those of you who were praying for me, they were answered!  

In the meantime, due to all of the sickness out there, we have been on lockdown over here.  Between my procedure/health and Isaiah's lungs, we have been hunkered down at home.  We spoke with Isaiah's pediatrician who fully supported out decision with all of the issues we have been having with his lungs and even simple colds.   So that means I have gotten to experience  bit of what teachers do.  Dear teachers, you are amazing, underappreciated and deserve a million dollars a year!  I love my kiddo's and they really have been awesome, but wow, teaching truly is an art form!

We have been working on home work here.  I found that my kids love flash cards, just like I did.  So we have been doing math, colors/shapes, animals and their habitat, and the states and capitals of America.   I can't believe how fast they are and really, even I am learning a lot that I had forgotten!   We have also been working on the kids writing.  Isaiah has doctor handwriting.  Seriously, it's all over the place and hard to read.  So, we have been designating time to just printing.   I use the computer so much, that I rarely hand write anything anymore.  Much to my shock and dismay, my hand writing was worse than his!  In fact, my hand would be half way through a sentence, and just it would just weaken and quit!  I got a taste of my own medicine and could hear my lecturing Isaiah about the importance of being able to write legibly, bleck!  I have also been working with Aria on how to properly hold her crayons.  We really need the big ones, but we just have the regular size.  I have noticed that she holds it in her fist.  So I have trying my tush off how to hold the crayon.  She'll copy me for a while, but as soon as I turn around, she'll go back to the fist!  YAR!!!   Still, I can't complain.  I have been having a ton of bonding time with them.  We have been able to relax and just hang out.  Isaiah has been vocalizing his emotions better and better.  We have been able to get to the root of some issues and have been seeing huge improvements.   The two of them are pretty tight knit and seem to be really playing with each other.  Don't get me wrong, they have their moments, it's just been better than I had anticipated.  I have been thankful for this time as it has allowed me to just focus on them.  They seem to really be enjoying hanging out with me and that in itself is priceless!


We are quite the musical family  We constantly have the radio playing, I have found it soothes my nerves, heck all of our nerves.   I find the two of them singing 10,000 blessings a lot!  Nothing like having our family break out in song at any given moment.   While we all sing different keys, it says "make a joyful noise unto the Lord!"  Nothing about singing in tune;)  It's been fun to see how much they retaining the verses and singing their hearts out to the Lord.    They have been pretty bummed about not having much snow, but were ecstatic to be riding their scooters outside in the middle of January!   I just love watching them play together, it's such a joy to see them grab each others hands and call out to each other.


My friend Stephanie did have her surgery.  So far it has gone well, but she is still there and has a lot of recovery to do.  Please pray for her healing and that her body would function properly.   Every day I am becoming more and more aware of people and the trials that they are going through.  It's easy being trapped in the house, being stuck on my own issues.  I feel fortunate to have a group of people that have really reached out to me and gently have held me when I have been to weak to stand on my own.  I have gotten see others who are suffering with their own diagnosis's and how they respond.  Everyone is so unique and it just goes to show, we were all created so differently.  I still get hung up on my own expectations of how I wish I could respond.  Through these people I am learning, we can always strive to be better, but also learn to accept who we were made to be.   After all, if we were all the same, it just wouldn't work.  Nothing huge and profound on my end, just sharing and update.  If any of you have any fun teaching ideas, feel free to share!  

As always, I ask for prayers.   I am asking for G-d's wisdom, mercy, and peace.  A specific new one, would be that I could be able to eat some new foods.  I really need better nutrition.  I did finally try cooked carrots and praise the Lord!  I was able to eat one!  I never thought a carrot could be so succulent!  The other day Seth made broccoli.   I wanted it so bad that I thought I was going to chew my own leg off!  Still, I am praying for courage to be able to expand my diet with more nutritious food.  

I thank you all for supporting me through all of this.  No matter how near or far, I really appreciate the support and words of encouragement.  Thank you so much. 

A New Year

Well, another year has come and gone.  What is it about a simple date that can give you so much hope in the idea of a fresh clean slate?   I hadn't really thought much about a resolution, as my memory seems to remember that of Lorraine Swiss Cheese!   Though, as everyone around me seemed to be thinking of neat ideas, I thought "Why not?"   So, for now, my goal is to write more.   As I began thinking about committing to a certain amount of blog posts, my computer decided to have a mind of it's own.  I started to panic, as I realized how much of my social connections rely on the use of my computer, let alone ordering my special food, banking, well you get the drift.   I prayed to G-d that He would help me and make a way.   A very close friend of mine had put out the word that I was struggling with this.  I am so thankful she did, as another friend of mine was so kind to donate one to me!!!!  I am so thankful for the both of these very sweet ladies as now I can continue to write!  Thank you Kathy and J, you'll never know what this means to me:)  You two have been through so much yourselves and could have easily and understandably bypassed my needs, but you opened your hearts to me.  G-d answered my prayers through you both.  

I have some new comer's that have recently joined me on my journey, and they have specifically asked about my family.  I love getting feedback, so I am excited to share my family with you.

This holiday break has been pretty quiet.  Seth got a few days off from work and the kids and I were on him like white on rice!  Seriously, he is like a rock star in our house.  Anytime the kids here the back door slam (it's an old house and it's the only way the door will shut) they literally will drop whatever they are doing and will bombard him from any direction to see who can get the first hug.  After a little over 12 years of marriage, I never thought my heart would still race at the thought of being able to see him, but it still does!   We have a dog who name is Mya, she pretty much lives at my parents house because she decided she'd rather live in the as we jokingly call it "the retirement village," instead of the "nursery."  The great thing about Mya, is she is always excited to see you.  She'd pull out confetti and a cake if she could!   She barks and jumps up and down until you pick her up.  Well, that's how I feel about our family when Seth comes home, including me.  

Isaiah has been loving winter break as it is giving him plenty of time to work on his latest obsession, Lego's.   You have to understand, I grew up with my sister, so Lego's were not even on our radar.  Isaiah has always been rather scholarly.  While other kids were watching Sesame Street and Dora, he was watching hours of space and dinosaur documentaries on the history channel.   While his mind capabilities are endless, he wasn't a fan of using his hands.  So the Lego's really are a blessing in disguise as he is learning fine motor skills and of course, creating!   Seth was building with him for a while and came out and said "Either he is going to be in the science field, or a dictator of a small country."  I just busted out laughing.  Isaiah is very black and white and likes things to be done just so.   He isn't afraid to tell you what he is thinking, he can get quite authoritative to the point that you can't help but wonder if he really is an adult smooshed into a 6 year old body.    He has certainly taught us a lot.  Every now and then he likes to just randomly ask a question, but really he isn't interested in what we think, he wants us to ask him the question.  So that's kind of his norm.  So he walks up to Seth and says "Who do you love the most?"  Seth of course answers "My family."  Isaiah adamantly replies "You are not supposed to love us first, you are supposed to love G-d first!"  I hear Seth say in a stuttering voice, "well, yeah, that's a given, but I thought you meant..."  I am trying hard not to laugh, as Seth is desperately trying to dig himself out of the hole.  That's Isaiah, by the book.   Still to this day, if we say, "Go jump in the shower," he'll immediately protest that no one should ever jump in the shower and how unsafe it is.  Still he has a big heart.  With all that I am going through, I have begun to realize he is much more aware of what is going on than we realized.  He has asked me questions about death and we try hard to explain that Heaven is a wonderful place.   Just last year he finally realized why we go to the Mausoleum to visit the kids.    I still don't know how he figured it out, but one day Aria asked why we go there.  Isaiah very matter of factly responds, "because Aurora and Eli's bodies are there."  Gulp..   Okay, out of the mouth of babes.

Aria hasn't been too upset about winter break.  Since she would go to school all day every day if she could, I figured she'd be more upset.   She is our free spirit child.  Isaiah actually taught her how to read when she was just 2.  She is always bubbly and happy and is pretty easy going.  Isaiah tells her what to do, and she happily does it.  I don't know how many times we are in the process of talking to Isaiah about not snatching things from her and how he needs to ask.  He'll furrow his eye brows and give you a look that can make you squirm.  Before we can even finish Aria will just happily say "it's okay, he can have it.  I love you brother!" At first it was adorable.  After about the 10th time in one day, Seth would say "Aria, shhh!"   Still, she always gives in, with joy.   We found out this year that Aria is really into art.  I am not a crafty person by any means, so this has been a challenge for me.  Her teacher told me that they have pipe cleaners.  One day all the kids had pretty much dumped all of them on the floor, so she asked them to clean them up.  When she got to Aria, she was surprised to find that Aria had actually made a bracelet out of them!  She said she had really done some intricate work too!   I can already see her in a flowy dress, her hair long, and her apartment covered in paintings and messy beyond belief.   Seth and I find ourselves imaging Isaiah in a 3 piece suit with wingtip shoes, and a briefcase.  Aria will be the love child, with a peace sign painted on her face, and flowers in her hair.  I am fine with that, as long as they make sure to call and visit us often;)  The other thing that I am pretty sure that she probably got from her Nana, is a love of puzzles.  I can't stand them, even the easy ones used to bug me.  Not Aria, she lives for them.  All you have to do is set a box on the floor, clear your throat, and leave the room.  Presto, when you come back, there she will be putting that puppy together.   She's fast too!  Her Nana taught her well:) Even right now, she is sitting on the steps in the dark smiling at me and has  now crawled up into the bed and is declaring that she loves this house and loves snuggling with me.  All while twirling and speaking with a sing song in her voice.    The other thing about Aria that most people don't know, is she has quick wit.  Seriously, she is hilarious.  She says things that have us busting a gut and actually uses things in the right context.  The other day I was sitting on the couch with her.  I have a super sniffer.  Seth thinks I should become a professional sniffer for like perfumes or whatnot.  She was talking to me and I said, "Oh Aria you have dragon breath."  Without skipping a beat she breathes out like a dragon and practically rolls on the couch in a fit of laughter.   Her laughter is so contagious that all of us belly laughed right along with her.  

The two couldn't be more different from each other, yet they balance each other so beautifully.  With all that has been going on, I have noticed they are growing very close to each other.  After our first two children passed away, I had wondered if we would even be able to have one.  Instead we had two, and I am beyond grateful that they have each other.  As hard as some days are for me, where I wonder if I have the energy to press on and then I see their two precious little faces.   My family drives me to want to get better.  I keep on dreaming of the day when we can go out to a restaurant and then a long walk on the pier to gaze upon Lake Michigan in all it's glory.  Until then, it's games of Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Mariokart, and just plain hanging out.    I love to hear them laugh, it's truly music to my ears.



I have my wonderful husband Seth, who works so hard for us.  He is a CNC lathe machinist programmer.  He has learned his career by trade and is very good at his job.  I guess the best way I can explain what he does is if you have ever seen a wood lathe?  You take a piece of wood and the lathe whittles it down to the precise shape that you want.  He does the same thing, only with metal and whole lot more high tech.  He works for a very small shop, but loves what he does.  He has made everything from race car parts, nuclear reactor parts, to simple things like metal washers.  So lots of miscellaneous things.  We are thankful that G-d has provided him with a job in manufacturing in this economy.  So many jobs like his are going over to China or down to Mexico.  I only hope they can bring those jobs back, it's what he loves to do.  His dream would be to own his own shop and make things more custom made.  He has more creativity in his pinkie than I do in my whole body!  I call him MacGuyver, as if you would give him a couple of twist ties and a piece of gum, he'd be sure to create something useful.   If you can't tell, I think he is just the bee's knee's.   After our first daughter was diagnosed that she would not live, the first thing the doctor said was about 75% marriages fail after the death of a child.  If we weren't stunned enough to find out our child was going to die, we found out our marriage might not survive?  We went home that day and promised each other that no matter what, we'd make our marriage work.  Little did we know the trials that were ahead of us.   2 fires (our apartment and his work both burned down), 2 children died, 2 miscarriages, and now a chronic illness...   What is the secret?  Truly, it is G-d did something, we can't take the credit.  Our marriage is not perfect, we have had our days.  Truly, when you bury your children your life dramatically shifts, let alone being sick.  It is our hope in G-d that drives us to cling to Him and to each other.  Truly, there are days when I have questioned G-d.   If he loves me so much, why would He put me through all of this?  Am I being punished?  Am I being taught?  Is this just random repercussions to a fallen world?  I wish I could give you the answer that made sense of all of this.  I know the biblical answer is, for His Glory.  My suffering brings him Glory?  I do have to say, if my life had been perfect, I would have no need for him.  Throughout all of this, I have learned that I am desperate for Him.  While I can't tell you that it soothes my pain, I have seen His mighty hand working through others.  It is no coincidence that when I hit rock bottom, people will all of the sudden appear in ways I hadn't expected.  I just keep on clinging to the verse, ..."He is close to the broken hearted."   Some days I fall to the floor on my knees in tears asking where He is, while others I find myself jumping up and down thanking Him for His latest rescue.   He really does work in mysterious ways and always seems to be at the point of no return.   On the days, when I am too tired to believe, I have learned to ask others for help.  If I don't ask, how can they know?  On those days, I rely on their faith to help me through.   



Lately my food intake has dwindled and it is time for another round of botox.  For those of you who are just joining, I am not talking about the cosmetic uses.  They do an EGD and then inject it into my pylorus valve, which is below the stomach to allow the food to be able to empty out of my stomach more easily.  Whether it be stress or just the structure of my stomach, that valve likes to lock up and hold my stomach contents hostage.  It is very painful and nauseating.  It makes you feel like you have the stomach flu and then some.  Because of the decrease of calories and nutrition I am constantly deprived of energy and am always hungry.  My brain will beg for the food, but my stomach seems to say, no way Jose!  If they could just have a meeting of the minds!!   So we are going back to U of M on the 15th of January.  I am nervous as I have seemed to develop a bit of a phobia of hospitals.   My only alternatives are feeding tubes.  As I stated previously, my friend Stephanie right now is in the process of receiving her 2nd tube.   Having a feeding tube isn't as cut a dried as you would think.  I myself should have known better, as our oldest son Elijah had a mickey button.   I never thought twice about him having and NG tube or the mickey button, but I didn't really realize all of the risks that go along with it, it's just way different when it's you yourself.


The New Year has begun, and I can tell you, I am praying this is a year of miracles.  Not just for myself, but so many out there who are suffering as well.  I have been told to just stop hoping, to accept where I am at.  That's just not me, I can't give up hope.  If I don't have hope, than what do I have?  So for my New Year's resolution is to write more, laugh more, love more, and hopefully live more!


As always I am asking for prayers for healing, especially that this botox would help (and that I can stay of sound mind), that I can eat more, and be able to do the simple things with joy.   I guess I am asking for prayer for good health, mercy, wisdom, and peace.  I ask also that you would do so for my friend Stephanie.  I pray that she would experience G-d's mercy and know that He is truly with her as she has big decisions ahead of her.  

Watch, pray, believe, and be amazed.   
 (For you newcomer's this saying started back when Elijah was alive, a close friend of ours felt this to be our family motto)


PS  Janet Young, I have got to get your email lady!!  I have missed you.  Welcome back:)










 





































  

A Christmas Carol....Sort of

I have finally come out of writing seclusion.  I decided to take a break, but Seth encouraged me to get back on the ball.  It's crazy how my life has so dramatically changed.   As I close my eyes, I can remember two years ago about this time.  Aria was toddling around, Isaiah was into his ocean aquatic stage, and I was stuffing my face every time I turned around.   I would be running up and down the stairs running loads of laundry, while prepping dinner (trying to wow Seth with my new found culinary skills) trying to create a new mouthwatering masterpiece, and probably yapping on the phone to get in some adult conversation that didn't require the words, potty or sippy cup.  I remember feeling so frazzled, trying so hard to be super Mom.  I pretty much failed at it.  How can you succeed when comparing yourself to others?  You can't.  

With all of the holiday movies, there is one that I can almost really relate to.  Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.   I feel like I am Scrooge.  Only instead of having a huge greed for money, my downfall, an ungrateful heart.  Sometimes I feel as though all the ghosts are visiting me late at night, the ghosts of the past, present, and future.  I wonder if Charles Dickens wasn't writing that the ghosts were literal, but that of our mind.  Honestly, I have never read the book, just have seen every movie known with that title all the way down to the Disney version (scared the hoo ha out of me as a kid) on TV.   I now look back on the life I had, even while Elijah and Aurora were still alive, and I find myself wanting to yell at the old me to say "YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!!  BELIEVE OR NOT, THESE ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST YEARS!"  I see the young me, hair down my back,  happy all the time.  We lived on a Native American reservation for a few years out in South Dakota where my parents were foster parents for 13 girls all at the same time!  I was the baby out of all the girls and so I was well loved, and I loved all of them.  I especially loved one of the oldest girls who as far as I was concerned, was a movie star.  Her name was Tammy and I adored her.  I had some of my happiest childhood memories out there.  I remember swimming in the Missouri River and just laughing a lot.  I then flash forward to various periods of time, some good, some not so much, but somehow everything was still okay.  Of course I revisit when Aurora and Elijah, the ups and downs of their pregnancies.  The joys of their births and the sorrow of their deaths.  Looking back, I can see the handiwork of G-d.  How he brought people into our lives at just the right time, that alone still mystifies me.  While I grieve over the relationships that did not with hold the test of time, I know now, for everything there is a season.   

Sometimes the ghost of the future shows up in the form of panic attacks, anxiety, and fear as my thoughts introduce the possibilities of what might be.  I am here to say that I am Christian, but I am not the type that you see on TV that seems so perfect and put together.   Lately, I have been reading the book of James in the bible.  I can tell you that if James was here right now, I'd be in big trouble.  I have been having trouble concentrating, so his chapter is easy for me to read and to understand.  He was quite the straight shooter, no bones about what was on his mind.  Any thought of pious behavior is squelched within reading the first two chapters, he is a reminder that none of us have it together.   Still he talks about rejoicing in trials, I am not there yet.  In fact he says that the trials actually shape your maturity.  I don't feel like I am progressing in this area.  Instead, I feel as though I might be regressing.  I feel as though I went from being this strong firm opinionated woman, into a weak questioning child.  The other day I was pretty much mentally flogging myself for my lack of faith, when I remembered, ..."faith like a child."   I found myself pondering, has G-d allowed this suffering to humble me?  I didn't think I was that prideful, but maybe I was?   The thing about not being able to eat, well it pretty much makes you feel like a rabid animal.  I probably look like this tiny pathetic little animal, but when you walk by with those tacos, chili, meatloaf, Chinese, heck a salad (never thought that would be on my top 5 things truly missed) I just feel like I am going to start frothing at the mouth and then who knows what things I might be capable of!?   Run!!  Then the scary stuff like sickness throws me into a tailspin.  Simple colds set me back for days, I feel so fragile.  I look at my children and pray that G-d will let me see them grow up, to be able to play with them like I used to.  Or to see them go on a date, graduate, see them have their first baby and watch them grow old.  Or I look at Seth, and long to be by his side till we have white hair, or as we joke, bald and toothless.  I can't not imagine being by his side.  I have declared that he is going to wear button down shirts with  a cute bowtie and suspenders to hold up his pants all while whistling every time he speaks.  I want to be there and I wonder, what if I am not?  Often we visit the kids at the mausoleum, we stand in front of their headstone and I can't help but look to left and see our empty space.  I can't help but imagine my name up there.   There is a man that's wife passed away years ago.  To this day, there are always fresh flowers.  When I have had some of my worst days, Seth has promised that he won't forget me, and that he'll bring flowers.....    Some people say you can't think like that.  Well, I am just being honest and I'd be a liar to say I didn't.   The hardest part is feeling like I haven't done much, I haven't left a legacy.  I keep on thinking, if G-d asks me what I did here on earth, what have I done??  

Which brings me to the present.  Having really rough days, makes you truly appreciate the good days.  By good, I mean being able to wake up in the morning.  Every day I wake up, I am truly thankful that G-d has allowed me yet another day.  As my bones seem to move slowly, it gives me time to set a goal for that day.  Each day I pray I can eat a little more, be a little more nice, and to trust G-d.   Some days I fall flat on my face, while others feel like a beautiful song.  I pad into Aria's room and see her sweet angelic face.  "Aria, how did you sleep?"  She always replies
"Good, I dreamed about ponies, butterflies, and rainbows, and you Mommy?"  She is always giggling and I'll say "this is the day that the Lord has made," she chimes in with me, "let us REJOICE and be glad in it!"  We head downstairs to face the day.  Some days I can hardly make it to the couch and we have dry cereal.  On the good ones, I move around.  I love the good ones.  I cherish the good ones.  I still keep on clinging to the hope that this season will pass and I find myself constantly praying for true healing.  Sometimes that hope almost makes me crazy, sometimes it is all I have to keep on going.  Some days I feel like I need music to drive the evil thoughts away.  All I keep on thinking is, this wasn't supposed to be my life, how did I get here?   Yet, I am.  This is my life.  I have outlived some of my children, I have lived longer than those whose  names flash across the nightly news, I have lived...


I am reminded of the gift that G-d has allowed, that is truly a priceless gift.  It is the gift of others.  Every time I find myself asking G-d, "did you forget me?  Does anyone remember me?"  He responds in the most unique of ways.  While some may say it is chance, others fate, I know it is G-d.    I have been dreading the holidays for a while.  We have been struggling as Seth has had to miss a lot of work and the medical bills keep on coming.  The kids this year were already talking about Christmas back before Halloween.   I feel as though so much has been taken from them in having to stick with me that I just couldn't help but feel depressed.  FB and I have a love/hate relationship.  While it's great for the sense that it keeps me somewhat in a social loop, it also can be a cause of envy.  I see the posts of everyone going out to eat, going on vacation, heck going grocery shopping, and I feel so ashamed that I can't too.   Then came the postings of the Christmas tree with gifts piled everywhere and I started to feel sick.  I had already envisioned Isaiah questioning me on where all the gifts were, eh....  I kept on praying to G-d to help, I didn't know how, but we needed it.   I would love to go into details, but I know some people want to stay anonymous, but I'll just say, we had presents under the tree.   I cried.  I am grateful beyond words.   The best gift of all, was realizing that we hadn't been forgotten.  I kept on telling the kids about the importance of giving, not getting.  

You know at the end of the movie,  Scrooge was able to right his wrongs.  I keep on asking G-d for my chance to right my wrongs.  I dream of the day that I have the energy to get up and do things for others.  Gone are the days for trying to keep up with Jones.   I, so badly want to be remembered as someone who really sought G-d out, who tried to do the right thing.  I also want to be remembered as someone who truly cared about others.  I have learned about compassion to a level I never knew existed.  I feel peoples pain, as they cry about their suffering, I cry with them.   I don't want to run away and get on with my life, instead I want to put my arm  around them and say the simple words of "I'm here, I am not going away."  I am doing the best I can to try from my shut in status, but I dream of the day when I can go to other's houses and help in whatever it is that they need.  I have suffered so much, but I know that others are suffering right along with me, even worse.  I feel my heart of stone, is being turned to flesh.   As painful as it is, I am thankful to G-d for allowing me another day.  While I still battle the fear of each new flu or food setback, I can only pray that His mighty hand will carry me and push on through. 

I say all of this with tears in my eyes.  I have a friend of mine who has gastroparesis as well.  I believe G-d brought her into my life last year, when I didn't know if I had the strength to go on.  She encouraged me with words of assurance about the feeding tube and spoke to me about all of my suffering that it wasn't all in my head, it was real.    Her last tube coiled up in her stomach and was giving her horrible pain.  I don't want to over step my bounds of privacy for her, but I want people to understand that this is a very difficult diagnosis that can barely affect some, and brutally mess with others. Like me, she too was a foodie.  Was, I hate that word.   Anyways, she is way more courageous when it comes to trying new foods and has inspired me to be brave in each day.  She was hoping that she might do better without the tube, but it hasn't been the case.  She is now at a dangerously low weight and all I can do is pray.  I feel so helpless.  Why can't we find a cure for this thing?  It really hits home how serious this really is.   I just want to go down to the hospitals and beg them to do more research, to give us hope.  In a world obsessed with losing weight, we want to gain!!!!    As each weight loss commerical comes on, another is followed by a restaurant commercial, how messed up is that??  Talk about messing with your mind!!  Blah!  Anyways my arm is going numb, so I better pause for now.  I ask for prayers for my dear friend, that the Lord would make a path for her, that she would experience His peace, and be healed.  I too need prayers.  I ask that G-d would protect us from illness and make me strong and have energy again.  I have been so depleted that I can hardly put my clothes on without getting winded.
I ask for prayers of hope and healing.  I ask for prayers against the evil one, for protection from all of his firey darts in any way shape and form.   I believe that I can ask this, as with anything with G-d is possible.  Blessed be His name for He gives and He takes away. 

Watch, Pray, Believe, and be Amazed.